Dark of the Night
by Rapidfyrez
Summary: Things had finally started to go his way. Optimus had his memories back, the cons hadn't appeared in weeks. Life was finally looking good for Jack. Of course, then he had to walk home at night...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Curses

_K.O Burger Parking Lot…_

The small fast food joints lights dimmed as the last employ exited the establishment. The door shut behind him, letting him out into the cool crisp night air. He looked around the parking lot, as if searching for someone. Who would have been anyone's guess. The entire lot was empty.

The employee was a teen of roughly 16 or 17 years of age. He stood about 5'8, with a lanky build and pale skin. His hair was black and wild, seeming to have no real structure or order. He wore a grey over shirt and white long sleeved undershirt with blue jeans and sneakers. His eyes were stormy blue.

Jack frowned and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number and held the phone to his ear, listening to the dial tone. A moment later he heard a wash of static followed by a female voice.

_"Jack? What is it?" _Arcee, SIC of the Autobots and Jack's guardian, friend and partner, demanded in a hushed whisper. She was probably on a mission.

"Sorry Arcee, it's just that the parking lot was looking very empty when I ended my shift," Jack explained.

Arcee cursed, _"Right, late shift, I forgot. Sorry Jack, I'm on a stealth mission at the moment. I can ask Ratchet to bridge you to your house if you want." _she offered.

Jack smiled and started down the sidewalk, "I appreciate Cee, but I can walk home. It's only a few blocks, I can handle it."

_"Jack-"_

"I can handle a swarm of scraplets on Cybertron and an Insecticon Arcee. A few blocks won't kill me." Jack said, still smiling.

Arcee sighed, _"Alright. See you tomorrow then Jack. Sorry for making you walk."_

"Talk to you tomorrow Cee," he flipped the phone closed, slipping it into his pocket. He put his hands behind his head and strolled down the sidewalk. Things around Jasper were finally looking up again.

So much had happened to the teen in the past few months. First he'd met the Autobots, found out about their civil war with the Decepticons that had destroyed their planet. From there, he and his friends had helped them prevent an invasion of undead Terrorcons on Earth. The months after were a blur of running and screaming. Lots of running and screaming.

Three events stuck out in Jacks mind though. His encounter with Arcee's nemesis, Airachnid, a crazy spider con who liked hunting indigenous life forms so she could add them to her collection. Jack shivered, the con had hunted him through the forest for hours. Only quick thinking and a leak in her ship had saved him.

The next was when MECH, a human terrorist group dedicated to acquiring the most powerful tech on Earth, had captured his mother with help from Airachnid. Jack had been forced to try and rescue her, and if it hadn't been for Arcee and Fowlers timely arrival, he and his mom would have died.

The biggest and most recent though, was the near awakening of Unicron, the chaos-bringer. Turned out that the Earth's core was actually home to an entity of chaos and death. The Bots had managed to stop him from fully awakening, and saved Earth with Megatron's help. But at the cost of Optimus and his memories. Optimus had lost his memories defeating Unicron, and was turned into a con by Megatron. Only when Jack went to Cybertron with the Key to Vector Sigma, given to him by Optimus, were they able to restore his memories.

Since then, the cons had withdrawn for a time, probably planning their next move. In the meantime though, the past two weeks had been peaceful. Happily so. The bots had found a cache of Energon to double their supply, and the kids had been able to spend more and more time at base.

Jack sighed happily. One of his favorite pass times now was racing with Arcee. The femme wouldn't admit it, but she liked it too. Every time they went out, they went faster and faster, streaming through the wind at a crazy speed. It was exhilarating.

So of course, one night of walking home was fine by him. Jack checked his phone as he walked, double checking his messages. He wanted to be sure he hadn't missed any from his mom. It was late, the moon was rising high into the air, and he was the only person walking along the sidewalk. Best to not add his mothers wrath to a list of things he'd see when he got home.

A cold wind blew by and Jack shivered. Cold night. He looked up at the sky, noting that the clouds were thick and puffy, hiding the moon. It might rain that night. Arcee would whine about rust on her rims if it did. For as kick aft as she was, Arcee could be a real diva when she wanted.

An scream split the air, causing Jack to freeze in place. It was the scream of a woman, and it was cut off as fast as it began. Jack felt his blood run cold, and took off in the direction of the scream. Some small part of him said this was a bad idea. A much louder part didn't care, someone was in trouble, and he needed to help.

Jack ran past a small building, stopping at the alley between it and a larger convenience store. The alleyway was poorly lit, he couldn't see past two feet into the dark. A small squelching noise emanated from the darkness. It sounded like someone was eating. The noise caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end, but he ignored the feeling. All he knew was that this was where the scream had come from.

"Hello!?" he called into the dark, "Is anyone in here? I heard a scream." no response. the squelching noise continued. Jack moved forward, pulling his phone out and flipping it open. A dim light was cast on the ground, only adding a few feet of illumination.

"Hello?" he asked, feeling less confident. The alley was a good thirty feet long, so the noise had to be coming from somewhere.

Jack froze, his eyes wide as something came into view. A thick red substance pooled across the floor, slowly spreading towards him. Blood. Jacks hand shook and he raised his phone up. His heart was pounding in his chest, and his breathing grew short and rapid, yet something kept him from running.

Slowly the light cast up, and Jack felt sick. A human hand became visible, blood dripping down it in small rivers, adding into the pool. It was the hand of a woman, mid clench, as if she'd tried fighting off something briefly. More was illuminated, and Jack felt the urge to vomit coming up.

The woman's body was coated in blood, her clothes pressed tightly too her body from the thickness. Her skin was pale, and her face was fixed in a look of sheer terror. Her eyes were glazed over, and once blond hair was dyed an odd pink. But what caught Jacks attention, was her neck.

Someone, or something, was hunched over it, like an animal. Their head bobbed up and down, and the sound of flesh tearing could be heard. Jack dropped his phone, the device clattering against the pavement. In the near silence, it was painfully loud. The thing stopped moving, and the woman fell from its grasp. her body hit the pool of blood and concrete with a sickening thud.

The figure slowly stood, its head still drooped forward. A pitch black hood hid its head, but Jack could see small amounts of blood dripping from it.

"Interrupting my snack." the things voice sounded female, and old. Old but young.

"Was a bad idea human," the figure looked up, its light dimly lit by the phones light. Immediately Jack knew it was female, and she almost looked human. Almost.

Her skin was ungodly pale, whiter then snow, like a living statue of marble. Her eyes looked like pools of blood, draining into the pupil. She had thick black hair, as dark as she was pale. Her features could be described as incredibly beautiful, with soft looking skin, and sharp features. But her ears were pointed, and when she spoke, dozens of razor sharp teeth flashed in the phones light. Her entire mouth was coated in blood, making it look as if she were wearing clown makeup.

She was dressed in a simple blood red blouse, with black pants and a hoodie. A scar was wrapped around her neck. The hoodie was unzipped and splattered with blood. So were the knees of her pants.

All this Jack registered in an instant. He took a single step back, the females eyes staring at him, wide and unblinking. She smiled, her smile going unnaturally wide, spreading from ear to ear. Her mouth was full of razor sharp teeth, like a sharks. They were all stained red.

Jack then did what any sensible person would do in his situation. He turn and ran, abandoning his cell phone. He practically stumbled as he exited the alley. Adrenaline flooded his systems, and he heard a deep seductive laugh emanate from the alley.

"Run little human, run. It makes the chase more exciting." She taunted. Jack spared a single glance over his shoulder as he ran. The woman stood at the edge of the alley, watching him with those wide unblinking eyes. Her face was obscured by shadow and her thick hair, but her grin, her grin was still evident even from his brief glance. She did not open her mouth while she laughed.

Jack turned back forward, breathing hard as he ran, skimming around a corner. He had to get away, to get to base, or to the police station, somewhere! The laugh continued to echo across the streets.

Jack stopped at the edge of a street, panting hard as he tried to regain his breath. He looked behind himself to see the woman casually strolling towards him, her hands crossed behind her back. Her head was bent back over again, but now an eerie hum emanated from her. It sounded vaguely similar to the nursery rhyme three blind mice.

Jack looked back at the stores across the street. They were mostly convenience stores, all closed. One though, caught his eyes.

_G.I. Army Surplus. _Perfect.

The commercial section of town was abandoned, so Jack couldn't call for help. The humming grew louder behind him. He had two choices. Try and run. Or head to the Army story, see if he could find a weapon of sorts.

"Going somewhere!?" her hand gripped his shoulder and spun him around. Jack almost screamed in fear. Now that he was up close, she was even more terrifying. Her eyes still didn't blink, and blood dripped from her lips still. Her features in the twisted light of the night and street lamps were angular and sharp. Her grin was still present.

Jack struggled against her, trying to break the grip. He hammered at her hand and arm, but she didn't budge. The woman laughed through her serrated teeth, which were still locked in place.

"No need to run," she cooed, "It'll all be over soon."

Her mouth opened wide, unhinging like a snakes. One hand gripped Jacks hair and yanked his head to the side. the other held him in place. Jack reacted on instinct, and punched up. The attack was so sudden, he actually hit her, directly in the throat. She screamed and stumbled back, gripping her throat and hacking.

"Little…brat!" she snarled, looking back at him. She didn't look as scary now, since her grin had faded and her eyes were narrowed. Didn't make her any less intimidating.

Jack took off, running to the G.I. store. The doors would be locked, but the windows. They weren't. Shielding his face, Jack leapt at the windows. They shattered, and Jack fell through. He ignored the pain covering his body from multiple cuts on his face, arms, and body. He was in.

He weakly got to his feet, quickly scanning the room. Cages lined the store, filled with military apparel. He ignored those. The wall to his right though, had a line of rifles hanging from the wall. A glass display case held pistols and wicked knives inside it.

Jack ran towards the guns right as the double doors exploded off their hinges. The woman strolled through, her brow furrowed angrily, "Oh just stop running!" she growled.

He ignored her, and leapt over the display case, leaving a bloody hand print on it. Jack grabbed the first weapon he could find off the wall, a M .22 Rifle. He checked the chamber and saw it was empty. He cursed, of course it would be.

He quickly searched through the cabinets under the rifles, looking for any ammo. A display case showing off army helmets crashed to the ground. The woman had resumed her humming. Jack found a case of ammo, behind two others.

The cases were frantically shoved away, and he grabbed desperately at the box, "Come now kid… We all know this won't end well."

Jack said nothing, and suppressed the urge to whimper. He pulled a round out of the box and hastily slid it into the chamber, his fingers fumbling over it. He stood and turned to see the woman casually strolling towards him. He aimed it at her, silently thanking his dad for having been a gun nut before he passed away in a car accident.

The woman stopped, looking at the gun, and then to Jack. Then she tilted her head back and laughed. Her shark like teeth flashed in the dimly lit store. She looked back at Jack, her teeth bared, "I like you kid. You've got potential."

"S-stay back! I mean it!" Jack threatened. The gun trembled in his hands. His sights though, never left her body.

The woman began walking forward once more, and smirked. Jacks eyes widened. Her teeth looked normal now, except for her canines, which were still long and sharp. Jack shook his head and refocused the barrel on her. She stepped up onto the counter.

Jack pulled the trigger.

The crack of the shot echoed through the store and out the broken window. The woman stood there, stock still, her blood eyes glaring at him. A single entry wound pierced through the left of her chest. Small amounts of blood dripped from the wound. But the woman, she seemed unaffected.

Then, to Jacks shock and horror, the wound sealed shut. A small patch of pink skin being the only reminder of him having ever shot her. She smirked, "Oh, you have far too much potential. Feeding can wait."

She shot forward, faster than any human Jack had seen, and slammed him against the gun rack. The weapon fell from his hands, and rifles fell to the ground. Jack blinked wearily before looking up at the woman. She had a sick smile on her face, her fangs bared. Jack struggled against her arm, but it was like trying to move a mountain for all the good it did.

"Relax kid," she said sweetly, far too sweet given her fangs, "You'll only feel a slight pinch. But the rest, it will be agonizing."

Her mouth opened unnaturally wide, and she shot forward like a cobra. Jacks eyes widened and he tried to scream as her fangs dug into his jugular vein. No sound came out, and his vision almost immediately began to distort. It looked like he was seeing the world through a cup of water.

The woman pulled away from his neck, the edges of her fangs tipped with red, "Now sleep tight little one…" her voice faded as she spoke, along with Jacks vision. She stepped back.

He fell to his knees, and then face first, "You'll need it…"

_Darby Residence…_

Jacks eyes shot open, and a searing pain shot through his neck. It felt like hot needles were being shoved in, and flooding his blood. He arched his back and screamed silently, perspiration coating his forehead. It was unlike any pain then he'd ever felt before, and it only got worse.

He clenched his hands, tears poured from his eyes as it intensified. He felt like he was being torn apart. Anymore and he'd go crazy. Maybe he already was.

Then, as fast as it came, the pain faded away. Blissful peace engulfed his form as the pain faded away. He simply lay there, his vision cloudy as he breathed heavily. He raised his hands to look at them, only seeing fuzzy objects. His entire body felt numb, and for some reason his mouth felt crowded, like there were too many teeth.

Slowly his vision cleared and the numbness faded, replaced with new strength. His vision cleared and he realized he was lying on his bed in his room. He swung his legs onto the side of his bed, still feeling shaky. Slowly he stood, wondering, how had he gotten home? Had everything he last remembered just been a dream?

Jack stumbled forward, steadying himself on his desk. It was a small thing, painted black and covered in paper and trash. His mom kept telling him to clean it, but he kept putting it off. He looked up at the large mirror he kept hanging above it, and froze, eyes wide. He was standing directly in front of the mirror… but he had no reflection.

The trembling returned, and he reached his fingers out, touching the mirror. It was smooth and cold to the touch, but no reflection met his fingers. It was then that Jack noticed his hands were pale. It looked as if he was made of living marble.

He retracted his hands quickly, staring down at them in horror, "W-what is this?" he demanded of no one.

A soft laugh echoed through his room, "Oh Jack, you ask all the questions, don't you?" He whirled to see the woman that attacked him lounging casually on his bed. She twirled his house keys on her index finger. The blood stains on her clothes and mouth were gone.

Jack immediately scrambled back, bumping into the desk, "S-stay away from me!" he yelled.

The woman rolled her eyes and sat up, "Kid, if I wanted to kill you, I could have done it already." she told him. She smiled, baring her fangs.

"But you have far more uses to me like that then before."

Jack looked down at his hands and the empty mirror. She wasn't showing up in it either, even though she was sitting right in front of it. He looked back to her, "What did you do to me!?" he demanded.

She stood up, "I made you better, stronger, faster, smarter, and honestly far more attractive." She pulled a bronze colored disc from her hood and tosses it to him. To his surprise, he caught it without so much as a fumble.

"Human mirrors can't see us. Only bronze mirrors sanctified in a ritual can." she stated.

Jack didn't ask about the ritual. He didn't want to know. Instead he looked at the disc in his hands, and felt utter fear.

His skin had turned as pale as his hands, his eyes were blood red, and his ears pointed. He raised his lip to see that his mouth was full of sharp serrated teeth. To his shock, the teeth flattened out until only his canines remained sharpened.

Jack dropped the mirror in horror, backing away from it and the woman, "W-what are you? What am I!?"

She laughed again, a far more harsh laugh, "Really? You haven't figured it out yet?" she smiled sweetly, "I'll give you a hint, it rhymes with campfire, and involves a lack of blood."

If Jacks face could get any paler, it did. Everything that had just happened made sense now, the blood, her pale skin, the pain in his neck.

"Vampire." he whispered, "You're a vampire, they're real."

"Very good Jack," she praised, her voice sounding sincere, "You're the first human in over two hundred years to guess that right the first time. I knew turning you was a good choice!"

Jack grit his teeth, and felt a low growl emanate from his throat, "You… You turned me into some sort of blood sucking freak!?" he screamed.

She punched him in the gut, knocking the wind from his stomach. He fell to his hands and knees, the Vampiress kneeling next to him, "Just because you are a vampire, doesn't mean I won't hesitate to hurt you. Keep quiet, otherwise you'll wake the neighborhood."

She stood back up and waited for Jack to stand, "Why?" he demanded weakly as he struggled to stand.

"Because, I saw potential in you." she said plainly, "And that's all you need to know. You aren't the only fledgling of mine in town, and I don't trust you with my big plans yet Jacko."

She tilted his head up, "But I was impressed by the fact that you tried to fight back instead of hiding like most humans do. But you'll learn that soon enough." she smiled mischievously.

"What?"

"Oh silly fledgling. You're like me, you think I was tearing that woman's neck out for fun?" she asked. Jack shuddered at the memory.

"We need human blood to not only stay sane, but to stay alive. Human foods, while tasty, won't satiate us. The longer you go without feeding, the more dangerous you become. If you go a full week without feeding, you'll descend into a blood induced rampage that will cause you to kill the nearest human to satiate yourself." she explained.

Jack felt like he was going to faint. This woman had come out of nowhere and turned him into a monster. A sharp toothed super human monster. He shivered, if what she said was true… he had a week left until he wouldn't be able to put off the inevitable.

A thought occurred to him, and though he didn't want to, he asked her a question while she leant against his bed, smiling like a maniac. Which she was.

"How am I suppose to go out in public looking like this? Not a lot of humans look like this."

She smile widened, "That," she started, "Can all be explained here," she pulled a book out of another pocket. It wasn't very big, just slightly larger than the palm of her hand. It was pitch black, with a leather binding and cover.

"This," she explained, "Contains all you need to know about your new "condition". I'd recommend reading up." she tossed the book at him.

He looked at the small book in his hands. Then he looked up at her, "So that's it, turn me into a bloodsucking monster, then leave without telling me your name!?" he demanded.

She grinned and stood at his window, "Pretty much. I have better things to do then look over a fledgling. But you can call me Mariana." then she disappeared.

Jack looked at the book in his hands. His pale, pale hands. He clenched his eyes, resisting the urge to crush the book in his hand. His entire life was ruined. If what he'd been told and seen was true, he was like her. He'd have to feed eventually, whether he liked it or not.

He fought back the tears and sat on his bed, hanging his head. The book still in his hands. Slowly he opened it. The pages were yellowed with age, and the writing was small and neat. The first page read: _Chapter 1: Fledglings._

**A/N: So how's that for a Halloween story? Huh? So except for those I told, who ever expected me to write something like this? A headsup, this story will be dark, it will be bloody, and it will be rarely updated. But that shouldn't discourage you from reviewing! See that little box? Leave a review in it! Or if you have questions or ideas, PM me! I will respond. Oh and Happy Halloween!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Bloody Survival

_Darby Residence…_

Jack held the book open in his hands, staring at the words, but not reading them. The letters were small and neatly stylized, with the occasional diagram intersecting paragraphs. It didn't look like much was written, but he dreaded reading the book. He was afraid that if he read it, this whole situation might become real.

He steadied himself, _"This isn't a dream Darby. This is real. No amount of wishing it wasn't will help that."_

Taking a deep breath, he reread the first page. It read:

_Chapter 1: Fledgling._

_If you're reading this, then congrats, you've just become a vampire, the apex predator. More than likely your vampiric master, the one who turned you, has given you this so you don't give yourself away like an idiot. _

The books leather creaked in his hands as his grip tightened. Barely a paragraph in and he was already getting angry at it. He took another breath, and forged forward into the book.

_One of the first things a new vampire must understand, is that most ways the media portrays us is incorrect. The closest humans have gotten to correctly portraying us was in the original Dracula novel. And even then, there are mistakes._

_One of these is the issue of how we turn others into vampires, and how we feed. Traditionally, a vampire is capable of shifting the form of their teeth based on what they intend to do. If they intend to feed, they are seen as sharp and serrated. If they intend to turn someone, there are several conditions. The first is that our teeth take the more traditional vampiric form. That is to say, our canines sharpen while our remaining teeth flatten. However, biting someone like this does not guarantee a change._

_If the victim is a virgin of the opposite sex, _(Jack blushed slightly at the implication) _then it is almost assured. If not, there is two possibilities. Either they will emerge as a vampire, or they will die._

_Should they survive though, this newly minted Vampire is a fledgling. A fledgling is both the weakest, and most dangerous stage in a vampires life. They are stronger than any normal human, and faster. That being said, they have a key weakness. The mere sight of blood can be enough to cause a fledgling to lose control._

_This is called a blood rage. In a blood rage, a fledgling loses all control and becomes an unstoppable force, killing and devouring anything unfortunate enough to get in its way. Few are strong enough to end a blood rage, fewer still are able to resist them._

_Despite this though, a higher level Vampire can stop them thanks to a natural ability all vampires have. Often referred to as magic, but is not, vampires gain access to this natural ability as they grow older. The fledglings mastery of this subject is limited, and they are only capable of a single ability._

_This ability is referred to as the Mortal Mask, which allows the user to disguise their vampiric appearance in order to maintain a normal existence in the human world. Though humans are unable to see past it, other vampires can._

He set down the book. He looked at his hands, which were still ungodly pale. If there was a grain of truth behind this book, then he should be able to change himself to look human. His eyes flicked up at the mirror, his reflection still absent.

"Okay Jack, you can do this." he whispered, taking another deep breath, "Just focus, can't be too hard…"

He grit his teeth together, grinding them as he focused. He willed himself to change, to look human. The sheets on the bed rippled from him gripping the bed. Slowly, a faint outline began to take shape in the mirror. It solidified, and filled quickly. Jack let out a gasp as he struggled for air, having finished the change.

The teen hung his head between his legs, catching his breath. That had been harder then he thought it'd be. Once he'd regained his breath, Jack looked up at the mirror. His face, with darker skin, blue eyes, and rounded ears looked back at him. Standing, he walked over to it, and placed a finger on the mirror. The reflection met his finger.

A laugh emanated from his throat, "I did it!" he yelled in a whisper. He brought his hands up and saw they were back to his old skin color again. Another laugh.

"Maybe I can still get by like this." he muttered to himself.

His foot brushed against something on the floor, and the fledgling looked down. The bronze mirror rested at his feet. Reaching down, he picked it up, only to almost immediately drop it. Though his reflection looked human in his normal mirror, his vampiric form stared back at him in the mirror.

"Okay," he said, "I should probably keep this hidden. Mom would freak is she…"

The mirror fell from his hand and his eyes dilated. Someone had just entered the house, he'd heard them. And now, he could smell them. He didn't know how, but the smell was overwhelming, and… good. Really good. Better than any food or drink he'd ever eaten or smelled.

A sinking feeling told him that wasn't necessarily a good thing. This was confirmed when he heard a knock at the door, "Jack?" it was his mom.

At least, that's what his rational half of his brain said. The other was more blatant. Food was in the next room, and all he had to do was…

Jack clenched his eyes and shook his head as his mom knocked again, "Jack honey?"

His new instincts swarmed his mind, reacting to the smell. Fresh blood, live blood was near. He needed that blood, needed to feed. Jack shook his head and shoved the instincts and thoughts into the back of his mind.

"Y-yeah mom?" he called back weakly. He looked at the book and mirror on his bed and quickly shoved them under his pillow.

"Can you open your door?" she asked, "We need to talk."

He gulped, "Ugh, yeah okay, one moment."

Quickly, he double checked his appearance in the mirror. He was relieved to see that he still looked human. He was about to move to open the door, when he noticed two faded grey marks on the area where his neck met his shoulder. He realized with a start that it was the bite marks from Mariana. That'd raise questions for sure.

He readjusted his shirt to cover it and moved to the door, cracking it open. He saw his mom standing there, arms crossed. She wore her standard nursing attire, and her thick black hair was tied back in a ponytail. Like Jack, her eyes were blue and her skin slightly pale. The look on her face suggested she was not in a good mood.

"S-something wrong Mom?" he asked nervously. His senses and instincts were finally starting to come under his control, and he could think more coherently. And one of his coherent thoughts was that he'd done something wrong.

"I've called you three separate times Jack, four text messages." she explained. "Care to explain why you've been ignoring me?"

Jack tried to hide his surprise at that. He mentally slapped himself for leaving his phone in that alleyway. But then, he was being chased by a homicidal vampire. Keeping track of his phone was the least of his worries. Course, for obvious reasons June wouldn't buy that.

"Jack." she said, regaining his attention, "I'm waiting."

The fledgling blinked once. "Oh that… I think I… ugh, left my cell phone at work." he said. Technically it wasn't a lie.

June narrowed her eyes, "Open the door, I'm coming in." she ordered.

Across from Jacks room, peering lazily through the window whilst reclining on a tree branch, Mariana smirked. She had to give her knew little fledgling credit. He'd learned how to control his instincts fast. Her past fledglings nearly _always_ lost control, and wound up eating or turning their families. She bared her fangs in a smile, the boy had remarkable strength.

Her smile faded into a frown. Impressive though it was, his mother couldn't live. She wanted loyalty in her fledglings, and a mother would interfere with that. Especially a human one. Killing her wouldn't exactly earn Jacks favor either. He had to do it himself, either on accident or in defense. Make it so that he _wanted _to join her.

An idea occurred to the vampiress, and she leaned forward. She formed an orb with her hands, and a ball of dark energy formed in between them. Grinning like a madwomen, which she more than likely was, and spoke into it.

"Jackson Darby. I order you to let your mortal form fade, let those around you see you for what you truly are." a deep seductive chuckle sounded up from the base of her throat.

"Jack, why did you really ignore me?" June demanded.

"Mom I swear I…" he froze as the words entered his mind. How had she done that? Better question was, why did he want to follow that order?

He ignored it, shoved away the order. Big mistake. Jack screamed in pain as it felt like someone took a sledge hammer to his head. He collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain as the words burned into his mind.

June was at his side in seconds, her anger gone, "Jack!? Honey, what's wrong!?" her voice was frantic as he arched his back and screamed. Despite his protests, he could feel his grasp on his mortal form slipping. Even so, he fought the pain, feeling tears roll down his cheek and his mortal mask start to fade.

His mother was paralyzed kneeling next to him, trying to figure out what to do. He had just collapsed screaming, and now he seemed to be getting paler. Even as a nurse, this was something she'd never seen before.

Jack arched his back and screamed one last time. The last of his mask faded away, his teeth becoming serrated. June scooted back subconsciously while Jack lay on the floor panting heavily, his eyes shut and his fangs glinting in the light.

The pain had faded, leaving only a dull throbbing at the base of his skull. He felt like he'd just endured a beating, and the implications of what happened had yet to hit him, that is until June spoke.

"J-jack?"

His eyes shot open and his blood, whatever was left of it, ran cold. June gasped as his red eyes glinted in the moonlight. The young vampire sat up, holding his head as he let out a moan.

"_So much for secrets." _he thought bitterly.

He looked at his mom, his head ducked in shame. This was not how he wanted her to find out, anyone to find out. His mom looked utterly terrified of him, her hands clasped over her mouth.

June finally spoke again, "Jack, what is this?" she demanded, "Why do you look like… well, like a Vampire!? Is this some sort of sick joke you and Miko were planning?"

Jack clenched his eyes, "No, it's not. Mom, I need to tell you something."

Mariana grinned as she watched, "Oh this will be fun!" she squealed. At that moment, her watch started beeping. She scowled, checking the time. A grin quickly replaced the scowl.

She stood on the tree branch, balancing perfectly, "Well Jack-O, I'd love to stay and watch, but I've got things to do!" and with that said, she leapt off the branch, disappearing into the night…

"That's what happened." Jack finished explaining his plight to his mother, avoiding eye contact with her.

June for her part looked utterly shocked and slightly terrified of what her son had just told her. She took a shaky breath in, calming her nerves.

"So this woman," she started, "this, Mariana, she did this to you?"

Jack grimaced, "Yes, but it was my fault, if I'd just kept walking home, ignored it, I wouldn't be like this. Look at me, I'm a monster now! A blood sucking monster!"

June quirked her lips, "Maybe not, not entirely." she said, tapping a finger to her chin.

Jack raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

His mother smiled, "Honey, I'm a nurse, I work at a hospital. Everyday people come into the hospital, some have lost a lot of blood…" she trailed off, letting Jack fill in the dots.

"Blood packs." he whispered. A hopeful expression covered his face, "You really think that'll work? That it will be enough to compensate for…" he didn't finish. The concept alone was disturbing.

"We have a week to find out, right?" June asked.

Jacks expression faded and he looked at his hands, which where once again an unnatural pale color, "Why are you being so calm about this?" he asked.

June was silent. He looked up at her with a pleading look on his face, "Why? I'm not human, not anymore. Why do you want to help me?"

Junes expression softened, "Because Jack, you're still my son. Remember that. No matter what, you will always be my son." she walked forwards and put her hands on his shoulders. Jack flinched, his instincts stirring. He shoved them back down.

"It's just… I don't feel like me anymore. There are these instincts, feelings, emotions, and senses that are so… wrong. My mind keeps telling me they're wrong, but my gut says otherwise."

He clenched his eyes, trembling slightly and walking out of her grip, "When you first entered the house… I almost lost it. It was so overwhelming. You know how dogs have a really good sense of smell?" he asked. June nodded, "It's like that, but like it only works for humans."

Jack slammed his fist against the mirror over his desk. It cracked, "If I hadn't had kept control…"

"But you did." June said, "Because you're still Jack Darby, and even if you are suffering this… condition, you're still human where it counts."

She let out a yawn, "I'm going to go to bed now. You should too. I'll call in at school, have you take the day off tomorrow, give you time to… adjust." she walked out the door, leaving Jack alone.

He looked up at the cracked mirror and let his mortal form show itself. The shattered mirror made it seem like he could only see half of himself. He looked back down at the desk.

"But how long will I be able to stay that way?"

_The Next Morning…_

Jack's eyes snapped open and he rolled off his bed, covering himself with his sheet. Sunlight streamed in through his window and he groaned. The feeling was immensely unpleasant, his entire skin feeling like it was boiling. He did a quick check to make sure that wasn't the case, and was relieved to see that it wasn't.

He poked his head out from under the sheet, and a hiss escaped his throat at the sight of the sun. He blinked once.

"Did I just?" he shook his head and tossed his sheets off, quickly closing the blinds shut on his window. At least sunlight wouldn't kill him, but he certainly didn't feel good standing in it.

He rested his head against the wall next to the blinds. Even though he'd slept soundlessly, he felt unnaturally tired. As if to emphasize this, he let out a large yawn.

"At least I don't have to go to school and deal with this yet." he muttered. He moved through his motions, changing out of his pajamas and into his standard attire. He felt hungry, and moved to the living room.

He found a note on the table from his mom. It read:

_I'm at work, should be home late tonight. I'll try and bring home the packs, just hold out until then._

_"The blood packs…" _Jack felt his mouth water at the idea. He shook himself as he realized what he was just doing.

"Get a hold of yourself Darby." he growled. He moved to the kitchen as his stomach rumbled.

He made a small breakfast, Mariana's words echoing through his mind. He looked at the small bowl of cereal he'd made. Normally cereal didn't seem that appetizing, but now… It looked even less so.

He took a single bite… and promptly spat it out. It didn't taste bad, far from it. It had no taste whatsoever, like he'd taken a bit of cardboard. He pushed the bowl away, whatever appetite he'd had was gone. The fledgling looked at the microwave clock: 9:30.

He had a long day ahead of him. Standing, Jack walked back into his room and dug the book out from under his pillow. It was the only place he could keep it safely hidden for now. He opened it up to a new chapter after skimming through the fledgling chapter.

_Chapter 2: Feeding_

_Though the amount of time between vampire feedings vary, one thing is certain. The max a vampire can go is a week before they lose their sanity permanently. However, feeding is just the same as when said vampire was once human. Its needed daily to ensure that one doesn't starve and proceed to degenerate into a lifeless corpse._

_The first day without feeding leads to mild stomach cramps. The next day is headaches and irritability. The third and fourth day can cause hallucinations. By the end of the week, the vampire will fall into a full blood rage, seeking out the nearest source of nourishment._

_Note, this does not apply for fledglings or more powerful vampires. A fledgling requires constant feeding, a full 24 hours without a feeding will result in a blood rage. The more powerful of vampires are able to go weeks without feeding, though it is not recommended._

The book fell from his hands and Jack sat there in dumbstruck horror. The hunger in his stomach suddenly seemed to intensified. 24 hours. 24 hours until he lost it. His hands shook, and his mortal mask, which he had dawned upon awakening, faded.

His hands clenched together, "I won't lose control, mom will be home with the packs tonight. I'll just explain the situation to her, that I need to feed sooner than I thought. No problem."

He doubled over as the pain increased again, "Maybe a small problem."

Jack closed his eyes and began to slow his breathing, calming himself. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through him, and it was not helping the pain in his stomach. He sat on his bed for several minutes until the pain dulled and the adrenaline faded.

"There, better." he said to himself.

He perked up as the garage door suddenly rumbled open. He heard an engine and he realized it wasn't June like he hoped. It was Arcee. Jack realized she might think he was sick, and that she came to check up on him.

Realizing he'd need to look at least somewhat sick, an idea occurred to Jack. Concentrating, he worked on manipulating his mortal mask. It wasn't easy, it was very difficult in fact, but eventually his complexion looked pale while his eyes, ears, and teeth looked human. As if he'd caught a bad cold.

He opened the door into the garage, and peeked in to see Arcee parked next to the table in vehicle mode. The femme turned her front wheel to face him, "Hey Jack." she greeted, "Heard you came down with something."

Jack smiled at the femmes concern. A handful of months ago, Arcee wanted nothing to do with him, saw him just as a job. Now though after all they'd been through, the two had become good friends, and Arcee seemed to enjoy being his protector. Which is why Jack could _never _let her know what had happened to him. She would be overwhelmed with guilt.

"Just a cold is all. Should be fine soon." he said reassuringly.

"Must be a heck of a cold, you look pretty pale." the femme commented.

Jack shook his head, "Not that bad, just makes me," he yawned, "tired, and pretty hungry."

"Guess I should have been there to pick you up last night huh?" Arcee said, a hint of guilt in her voice.

The teen waved a dismissive hand, "Not your fault, these things happen. No way you could have known that I'd come down with something."

"I suppose…" Arcee said. She suddenly straightened.

"Let me guess." Jack said.

"Sorry Jack, mission." Arcee said apologetically, "Hope you feel better."

A ground bridge swirled to life in front of her, and the femme roared through. It quickly shut behind her, leaving Jack alone. He doubled over as another wave of hunger passed over him.

"Yeah, me too." he muttered…

_Later that Night…_

June pulled into the garage and set the car into park. She rested on the steering wheel for a moment, the stress of the day passing over her. She had tried, she really had. But she couldn't get to the packs that her son needed. It had been a full house today, she had been forced to work over time.

It wasn't so bad though. Like Jack had told her, he had a week before the inevitable. She'd just get them tomorrow. She opened the door and pulled her medical bag out with her. It contained basic medical equipment for basic first aid, noting more or less. She always had it with her just in case.

"Jack?" she called, opening the door. She got no response at first. Then a groan echoed from the kitchen.

June wandered in, only to freeze. Jack sat at the table, his head resting on it, his arms wrapped around his midsection. His mortal mask was gone, as his ears were pointing through his hair. He let out another groan, a hungry groan.

"Jack are you alright!?" she moved to check on him.

"No don't!" he warned. She froze.

"I'm so hungry." he said, shame in his voice, "I did more research. Mariana lied. If I was a normal one, I'd have a week. I'm not. I'm starving."

Jack looked up from the table. His red eyes were glowing faintly, and had a hungry look in them, "Please tell me you got the packs?" he begged, "I can't hold out much longer."

June set her bag on the table, "No, I couldn't. I tried." she looked at Jack with a determined look, "But you're not going to kill anyone, feed on anyone." she said and unzipped the bag.

"What do you…" he winced, hugging his midsection tighter as his hunger intensified, "mean..?"

His mom let out a frustrated growl. Everything in her pack was designed for sealing wounds, not creating new once. Everything but a pair of surgical scissors. She pulled them out, holding them delicately.

Jack eyed the scissors, "What are you… you doing?"

"I'm going to give you some of my blood, enough to hold you over until tomorrow." June explained

"What!? No! Mom you can't!" he protested

June tied a piece of gauss around her finger tightly, "I can and I will Jack. It's not a lot, just enough to hold you over till tomorrow."

"I won't be able to control myself, what if I…" he shuddered in pain.

"Then either way I'll wind up dead Jack." she said plainly.

She made a small incision on the end of her finger. A large drop of blood quickly formed at the edge, holding still like a bubble of water. She held out the finger.

Jack looked at her, apprehension on his face, "Jack, drink. I trust you, I know you won't hurt me."

He eyed the blood on her finger. Jack wouldn't admit it, but that small drop of blood was the most appetizing thing he'd ever seen. Every instinct he had urged him on to drink, to feed. His mind though said no, that doing that was wrong, that it put his mother at risk, and he could never do that. But June had a point, if he didn't do this, it was assured that she would die. That he would lose it and kill her…

With his eyes clenched tight and his mind in full utter control, or the best control he could manage with his vampiric instincts going into overdrive, he wrapped his lips around the injury. To say that the drop of blood was the most savory thing he'd ever tasted would not do that justice. Every food and drink he'd consumed as a human seemed dull and tasteless in comparison.

To his shock and possible horror, he felt a small stream of blood, miniscule, but noticeable, being sucked in. He wasn't just drinking his own mothers blood, he was enjoying it! He let go, having satiated himself, and buried his head in his arms, suppressing the urge to collapse into tears.

June for her part quickly treated the injury, only feeling a little woozy. Jack had drank maybe a pint of her blood, tops. She'd feel a little off, but she'd be fine besides that. Once the wound was sealed in a bandage, she pulled a chair up next to Jack, who was sobbing silently.

She wrapped her arms around him in a hug, "It's okay Jack. Everything will be okay."

**A/N: So…. How do I write an A/N after that? Well, like this. Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter in the review, let me know if it was good bad or meh, I need to know. Questions will be answered if you ask them via PM. Any ideas, send them through PM as well. Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Taming the Hunger

_Darby Residence…_

Jack stared at the black canister that sat on the table in front of him. He knew what was in it, knew what he was supposed to do with it. But he didn't want to, didn't want anything to do with it. After what had happened the day before when June had offered him a small part of her blood to him, he'd been reluctant to want to accept anymore.

The pangs of hunger had started to return once again, but this time his mom had managed to smuggle several blood packs, each about a quart, giving him four days worth for each pack. This was to be the first pint he drank. The black canister was to make it easier June reasoned. If he couldn't see it or think about it, it'd be easier.

She was only half right. He still didn't want to drink it though, it felt wrong. Yet at the same time, it felt right, like it was something he should have done. Jack moaned and buried his head in his hands.

"It looked so much easier in the movies." he complained.

"Jack, you know that the movies make everything easier." June commented from the kitchen. She was making herself a late dinner, and Jack realized there was one blessing to being what he was. No more organic tofu for dinner.

Jack closed his eyes and sighed, "Better just get this over with." he said.

He looked up from his hands and reached across the table, grabbing the canister. He felt the liquid inside swish around as he took hold of it. He twisted the cap up and brought the canister to his lips. The pungent smell of blood entranced his senses, and he took a small sip. And that's all it took.

Instinct took hold and he tilted his head back, downing the containers contents in a single large gulp. The moment he finished he regained control and hurriedly set it back down, a sheepish look on his face. A small drop of blood traced down his chin.

"Better now?" she asked.

Jack nodded and used a napkin to wipe the blood off his chin, "Much… I guess I kinda lost myself a little." he said, looking in the bronze mirror that was placed next to him. The night before he'd shown the mirror and book to June, the latter of which she took and had begun to read. Her reasoning was that if she was going to raise a vampire, she'd best know what she was dealing with.

"You'll get used to it I think." June said confidently. It was almost unnerving how well she was taking all this, especially after last night when she'd offered her own blood to him to tide him over until tonight.

She walked over and sat across from him, taking a bite out of her dinner. Oddly enough, it still looked as unappetizing as when he was human. Probably tasted as bad too.

June swallowed, "Do you think you'll be able to go to school tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'm not sure." Jack said, "It seems like a bad idea to me. Fledgling vampire who can barely handle being around a single human suddenly going to a school full of humans packed together in tight passages."

His mom frowned, "Right, forgot about that. You act so normal most of the time it's hard to remember."

"Maybe… I could go to base tomorrow, it is a Saturday after all. Kind of wean me into it?" he suggested.

June leaned back, furrowing her brow in thought, "That's not a bad idea… but if you're there all day, you might have a problem if you get a craving…"

"Not like I can't bring one of these." he replied, waving the black canister in the air.

June leaned forward, resting her head on her hands. "Alright, I don't see the harm… But if you have _any _problems, head straight home, got it? We don't need any incidents."

Jack shuddered at what could possibly happen at that, "Right got it. If I get to hungry, straight home."

"And I thought taking care of a _normal _teen could be a pain." June muttered before returning to her food.

The fledgling picked up the bronze mirror and looked at it. His vampiric reflection stared back at him, the red glow having died down now that he was fed. He felt better after that, more so then before. Last night he'd felt barely satiated, tonight he felt much more so. Jack realized with a shock that his mom was right, he was getting used to it. And he wasn't sure that was such a good thing…

_The Next Day…_

Jack held up the bronze mirror, getting a good look at his teeth. With the mirror in his room shattered, and the one for the bathroom still waiting for a replacement for another incident entirely not related to his vampire related plight, this was the only mirror he could use in the bathroom that could see him.

He could use his mortal mask and a normal mirror, but he found that concentrating on using the mirror and keeping himself looking mortal was difficult. At least in terms of brushing his teeth.

So instead he was being forced to brush using the bronze mirror while looking at rows of sharpened fangs. Pleasant. Much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to get used to seeing his new body.

It didn't unnerve him anywhere near as much anymore, and whenever his mortal mask wasn't in use, his mom told him he had a habit of grinning.

He rinsed his mouth and spat into the sink before exiting the bathroom. The teen walked into the living room and picked up his pack, which held some homework he'd missed over the past two days, and a canister of his "food". Just in case.

The door to the garage opened and Jack stepped out, his mortal mask active. Arcee sat parked next to the table, upright and ready to go.

"Miss me?" he asked, hiding his apprehension.

"Maybe." she replied coyly."Feeling any better? You certainly look better."

Jack shrugged, "Don't feel as bad as I did Thursday if that's what you mean."

He hopped on and grabbed his helmet. The two drove out of the garage and sped down the street making their way to the base. Along the way, Jack felt apprehension building in his gut. He worried that something would go wrong, that his secret would be blown. What would the bots do if they knew he had to harm humans to live?

Jack had no problem imagining the disgust on their faces, the fear from his friends. His grip on Arcee's handlebars tightened. They could never know, they would never know. He'd make sure of it.

Realizing he'd been silent for a long while, he decided to make some small talk, "So, anything interesting happen at base while I was sick?" he asked.

"Actually, yes." her voice sounded sad, "MECH attacked Bumblebee. Stole his T-Cog while he was knocked out."

"A T-Cog?"

"It's what allows us to transform. Without it, Bee can't fight or go for a drive." she explained, "Kids been beating himself up pretty bad over it, so whatever you do, don't mention it."

"Right. Got it." Jack felt his heart go out to Bee. They'd both lost something precious to them. Difference was, Bee might be able to get it back…

_Autobot HQ…_

The two pulled into base, coming to a stop near Ratchets terminal. The base was located inside an old missile silo, though the missiles themselves were missing. The walls were mostly carved of brown rock, and the floor was concrete. A section of the floor rose up as a large platform where Jack and his friends often hung out, while the bots stayed in the normal area.

Ratchet was working at his terminal, while Bee paced around, his door wings twitching irritably. He seemed pretty ticked off. Jack stepped off Arcee who transformed, and realized that none of the other bots were around at the moment.

He pulled his helmet off and looked up in time for Miko and Raf to appear at the edge of the railing. Almost immediately his instincts went insane. With his mom, it had been bad for sure. But now his instincts were screaming at him that not only was their fresh blood around, but young _virgin _blood.

A small shiver passed through his body before he managed to reign his instincts in. It was quick, but not quick enough as Miko took notice, "Jack, you feeling alright?"

He winced, "Yeah fine, just getting over that cold you know?"

Walking up the stairs, Jack quickly met up with them, sitting at the couch in front of the TV. Miko looked at him perplexed.

"What?"

"Something happen to your neck?" she asked. Jack paled "It looks like someone-"

"Anyway," Jack readjusted his shirt to hide the marks," I heard that Bee lost his T-Cog." he whispered quietly.

Raf spared a glance at his guardian, "Yeah, he's been taking it pretty bad. Miko and I tried to find some TV for him to watch but well…"

"It turned onto a car commercial for his vehicle alt." Miko said.

Jack grimaced, "Ouch."

"Yeah," Raf said in agreement.

"Well why not put on a movie or something?" the fledgling suggested, pointing at the television.

Miko perked up, "Ooh! And I have just the one."

She started digging around in her backpack. "You know how people sometimes watch bad movies to make fun of how bad they are?" she asked excitedly.

"Not really, no." Jack deadpanned.

Miko gave him an incredulous look, "Really?" she snorted, "Whatever. Anyway, there's one _really _bad movie in particular I was meaning to bring in."

She straightened out of her backpack and held it up proudly. Jack felt his blood pressure sky rocket. Of all the movies she had to bring in, it _had_ to be that one.

"The movies that destroyed the coolness of vampires, the Twilight saga! I have all four, and you're going to watch them all with me!"

_Later…_

Jack stumbled into the bathroom, the canister well hidden from view. If he had to spend another minute watching that crap he was going to be sick. Back when he'd been human the movies had just been mildly annoying. Now? He felt like he was being personally insulted.

Keeping the memories of sparkling vampires- he shuddered- shoved into the dark recesses of his mind, he returned to the task at hand. Walking over to the mirror in front of one of the sinks, he brought out the canister. While the movies _were _awful, he was also starting to feel his urges become more powerful.

The smell of Raf and Miko had started becoming overwhelming for the teen, so much so that he started getting jumpy and pale. He needed to sate himself before he lost it.

Quickly he unscrewed the cap on the canister, downing the entire liquid in seconds. He shuddered and let out a groan for a brief moment before breathing deeply.

"So _this _is where you went?" a familiar voice said from behind him.

Jack whirled and his eyes bulged. Mariana stood leaning against one of the stalls, looking at her nails with disinterest. She wore a black hooded jacket and black jeans, with black combat boots. A pair of orange vintage glasses with a goggle attachment on either side rested on her face. She turned her head to him, the glasses flashing in the light.

"I have to admit, thirty foot tall robots from another planet… I'm nearly two thousand years old, but I _never _would have guessed that something like this existed."

Jack glared at her, the canister crumpling in his hand, "What the hell are you doing here!? How'd you even find the base!?"

She made a tsking noise, "Oh my little fledgling, you need to catch up on your reading. I can track any of my minions, you included. I decided to see where you were going today, since you didn't go anywhere for the past two days."

Mariana clapped her hands in a mock fashion, "You have to be the first vampire I met who cheated the system like that." she said, pointing at the canister in his hand.

He looked at it briefly before looking back at the Vampiress, "What do you want?" he demanded harshly. His mortal mask faded and he bared his fangs, a low hiss escaping his throat.

She lowered her glasses, letting her blood red eyes peak over, "Cute." she deadpanned.

Jack had no time to respond as he was suddenly kicked sideways into the wall. He hissed in pain as several ribs cracked and he fell on the floor. The woman strode over to him and proceeded to plant her foot on his ribs, cracking them further. Jack let out a muffled groan of pain as his vision went blurry.

Mariana leaned in, her glasses flashing brightly, "Learn some respect boy. I didn't turn you so I could be back talked."

She removed her foot. Jack gasped as he felt his ribs knead themselves back together. Once the last rib repaired itself, he started panting heavily as he recovered. He sat up, sub consciously cradling the area where his ribs broke.

He looked up at her and she grinned, "You can't treat me like this. I never wanted your stupid gift, didn't want anything to do with you." he growled.

The vampiress rolled her eyes and gripped him by the base of his neck, like one might pick up a puppy, and stood him back up, "What you _want _is irrelevant boy. You are my fledgling now, you follow my orders, and no one will ever be the wiser."

An unsure look rolled over Jacks face as he realized she had a point. His mom knew about the woman, but no one else did. And he couldn't tell anyone without giving away his secret either.

Mariana chuckled at his sudden realization, "But that's not why I'm here." she said, "I'm mostly here to see _why _you haven't fed yet. Truly fed."

"Because I'm not some blood sucking monster!" he protested.

That earned him a swift jab to the gut, followed by the woman grabbing his face and slamming it against the mirror. Blood trickled from his nose.

"Look at the reflection _Jackson. _What do you see?" she growled.

Jack was silent.

She tightened her grip, "What do you see!?"

"Nothing." Jack grounded out, "I see nothing."

She let him go and he slumped to the floor, wiping the blood off his face. He looked up at her, his face blank, "And that's exactly what you are fledgling. Nothing. You are the lowest of the low, a vampire who has yet to truly feed. Even before then, you were just a human in the middle of nowhere with _nothing_!"

She gripped his face, forcing him to look at her, "Do you understand!? Nothing!"

Jack was thrown against the ground, where he lay still for a moment.

Slowly, he pushed himself back up, "No, you're wrong." he said.

He stumbled slightly as he stood, "I am not nothing. I'm my mother's son, I'm an ally of the Autobots, I have been to an entirely separate planet and helped save this one multiple times."

His stance steadied, "I have been chased by a psychotic spider con, an insecticon, fought off metal eating parasites, and was made an honorary prime."

Jack glared at her defiantly, "And no matter what you say, no matter what you do, you can't take that away from me."

The bathroom was silent. Jack felt a pit of nervousness form in his stomach as he realized he may very well die. Mariana for her part wore an unreadable expression on her face. If she was mad or even affected by his speech was anyone's guess.

She snorted, "Whatever." and promptly disappeared in a cloud of inky black smoke.

No sign of their struggle remained except for a single red stain on the mirror. Jack let out a shaky sigh and leaned against the stall. He'd just dodged a bullet here.

He flipped open his phone, which his mom had found in the alley the other day (though the body of the woman and blood was nowhere to be seen) and dialed her. A moment later she picked up.

"Mom? Yeah its Jack. I think I'm ready to go home."

_Darby Residence…_

The bridge swirled shut behind Jack as he exited it. As much as he wanted to stay at base, he just couldn't, not after his little "chat" with Mariana. He would be too jumpy, afraid she'd come back and kill Raf and Miko then him. It would have made sense, the vampiress was insane.

The boy let out a long sigh and trudged in, collapsing on the couch in the living room. The living room was small and only has a single window on the right side of the room. A brown coffee table rested in front of the couch, and an old TV, only slightly newer then the one at base, sat in front of the coffee table.

Jack leaned his head back on the worn cushion of the couch, running his hands over his face, "Gragh, why me!?" he demanded.

The front door opened and Jack smelt rather than sensed his mother enter the house. Her scent he had grown very familiar with. She entered his field of view, her purse slung over her shoulder. She stood in place for a moment, hand on her hip.

"How and when?" she asked.

"I didn't even say anything yet."

"Jack, you have that same look on your face that you had when you got in a fight at school. So again, what happened?" she demanded.

He readjusted himself so he could look at her without craning his neck back, "Well for one, Miko decided that today of all days was a good day to go movie smashing. Making fun of bad movies." he explained.

A knowing smile spread on Junes face, "Let me guess…" she started.

"Yes, it was the films that should not be named." Jack growled out. June giggled slightly, ignoring Jacks glare.

"Anyway," he continued, "It's what happened after. I went to the bathroom to… take my medication," the boy was uncomfortable with saying that he left to drink blood.

"And when I finished, _she _was there." he practically spat out the word 'she'.

Junes eyes narrowed and her hand tightened its grip, "What did it want?" she growled. If Jack didn't like Mariana, June utterly loathed her. That woman had stolen her sons humanity, turned him into a Vampire, and caused him the pained look in his eye she saw whenever he had to feed.

"Mostly to taunt and insult me." Jack said, "Then demanded to know _why _I wasn't eating like a normal vampire. But I got rid of her," he quickly added, "told her off and she left."

"But you were afraid she'd come back at base." June finished for him.

He nodded and stood, "And now she knows about the bots." Jack hung his head, "I don't know if I'll be able to keep this up with her around mom." he started, "She seems to just appear out of nowhere, does what she wants then just goes away."

June set her purse down as her son looked back up, a sad look on his face, "I could handle this if I didn't have her to worry about…"

Jack suddenly froze, his eyes wide and dilated. June stepped forward, "Jack?" she asked.

Nothing.

She snapped her fingers in front of his face, "Jack?"

Suddenly his mortal mask melted away and he tackled her into the ground. Right as a rocket shot through the window and detonated in the living room. Jack used his body to shield her, clenching his eyes as shrapnel burned through his shirt into his back. The roar of the explosion left him deaf as he stood, the entire world soundless.

He looked down, feeling woozy, to see June lying on the floor. Unconscious, but alive and unharmed. The ground vibrated beneath his feet, and Jack looked back up to see eight men dressed in green fatigues and armed with rifles marching towards the hole in his house.

His mind went into overdrive and he made the connection. MECH. They'd found him again, and now they were coming after him full force.

Jack tensed his legs, about to take off and attack, to show these mortals they'd made a big mistake. Or he would have, if someone hadn't hit him over the head with a rifle. The teen stumbled forward with a grunt, only for another man to wrap their arm around his neck and cuff his hands together.

He struggled against them, feeling the metal bend, when he saw them picking up his mother. His hearing returned as his injuries healed, and heard them perfectly. "Silas only wanted the boy, what about his mother?" one of them asked.

The other shrugged, "Eh kill the broad. Not much use to us."

The one holding his mom almost seemed disappointed, "Can't I have a little fun with her first?" he asked, "She looks like she'd be a hell of a screamer."

Rage boiled in Jacks veins and his eyes, which had been weary before, snapped open, bright red. His skin paled completely, and he let out an inhuman snarl, his fangs bared.

"What the-" was all the man with his arm wrapped around Jack had time to say. Jack sank his fangs into the man's arm, prompting him to release him with a scream of pain. He snapped the cuffs effortlessly, and lunged at the man holding his rifle at his mom.

He had time to scream before Jack buried his fangs into his neck. He whipped his head to the side, and the man's throat tore open like a piñata, blood pouring out of the wound. The soldier collapsed, grasping at his fatal injury while Jack tackled the man who had threatened his mom.

There was only a moment response from the man before Jack gripped his head and body, and twisted. A bone crunching snap echoed through the now burning house, and Jack dropped his body onto the floor. His eyes went bleary from the smoke, the acrid smell overwhelming his nose.

He stumbled forward, only to receive a rifle blow to his face. His nose cracked and Jack fell on his back, dazed and confused. The remaining six men surrounded him, and made sure he was held tightly in place.

The one he bit stood up, shaking." Okay." he said, "What the _fuck _was that!?"

"No idea." Another, wearing a set of night vision goggles said, "But keep this kid restrained. Bring the mother too, Silas might want to talk to both of them."

He looked at the corpses on the floor, "And someone clean these up!"

_Unknown location…_

Junes eyes twitched as she slowly woke, letting out a weary moan. Her head felt like someone was taking a jackhammer to it, and for some reason her arms and legs wouldn't move. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked to clear them. Once her vision cleared she saw she was in a large dimly lit room.

She looked down and saw she was strapped to an operating table of some kind. She looked to her right and saw Jack unconscious and bound to a similar operating table, his mouth being bound shut. That was all she could see, as the light only illuminated the general area. She couldn't see any farther than two or three feet past the table.

Looking to her right, she saw a stand with various medical tools on them, and her blood ran cold. Immediately she started to struggle against her bindings, realizing what situation she was in.

A deep voice chuckled as she struggled, "Nurse Darby, how wonderful to see you again" it said. She froze and looked in the direction of the voice.

A heavily built man with a shaved head and scarred face stepped into the light. He wore green body armor that covered everything but his face. He was huge, easily 6'7 and built like a mountain.

"Silas." June hissed, remembering the man and what he'd nearly done.

"Ah, so you do remember me." he said fondly, and began circling both their tables.

"What do you want!?" she demanded.

Silas chuckled again, "Why Ms. Darby, it's not what I want, it's what MECH wants."

He stopped, standing over her. "And what we want is the Autobots."

June narrowed her eyes, glaring up at him, "Have fun with that, let me know how it goes."

"Oh you misunderstand Miss." Silas cooed, "You're going to tell us exactly where to find them." he leaned down, "And then, once we have them, you and Jack will have the honor of experiencing Project Chimera first hand."

The woman's eyes widened in horror. She wasn't sure what Project Chimera was, but she did know it couldn't be good. Not if MECH was involved.

Of course, while the two talked, neither one noticed Jack stirring. "What is Project Chimera?" June asked.

"Ah, I don't want to spoil it Nurse Darby." Silas said, twirling a lock of her hair in his finger. Oh how she wanted to hurt that man.

"But let's just say, if you do survive, you'll be the next step in humanities evolution."

Jacks eyes flashed open, blood red. His pupils dilated and his hands clenched. His face scrunched into a feral snarl. Silas whirled to the boy in shock "How!?"

Jack ripped the bindings free, his red eyes glowing faintly. He turned to Silas and bared his fangs in a snarl.

Silas pulled the pistol from his holster and fired three shots at Jack. The boy jerked as each shot hit home, slamming into his shoulder and lower chest. He stood up off the operating table, glaring at Silas. The wounds in his chest ceased bleeding, the holes sealing tight, pushing the bullets out of his body.

The terrorist took a single step back, before running. A large door slid open, and a total of twelve guards ran in, rifles pointed at the feral fledgling. Jack crouched, hands spread wide, and let out a feral hiss.

The Hunt, had begun…

**A/N: So yeah, I decided to update this again. Why? Because why not. However, I am torn on whether to update this fic again, or Another Type of Alien. Let me know in the reviews or through PM which you would prefer. Also, don't forget to let me know what you thought of this chapter, be it good, bad, or meh. PM me with questions or ideas too. Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Slaughter

_Jasper, Nevada…_

Arcee drove through Jasper, her processor lost in thought. She was mostly focused on Jack, and why the boy seemed to have something wrong with him. Ever since he'd walked home that night he'd been acting strange. Today he'd finally come back to base, yet he only stayed for a few hours before leaving. He claimed his cold was acting up.

The femme wasn't so sure. But then, she was no expert on human biology. Maybe he really was just sick. Regardless, Arcee wanted to check on him just in case. To make sure he was doing alright.

_"You're over thinking this Arcee." _she thought as she turned the street, _"Jacks fine, there's no need to…"_

She skid to a stop as Jacks house came into view. The entire living room was caved in, and firemen and policemen swarmed the front lot. The occasional fire sputtered around the edges of the gaping hole in the houses side. Her Energon went cold, and she slowly rolled forwards towards the chaos.

When she was near the edge of the caution tape, she came to a stop. Sadie, her holographic driver looked around to signal her confusion. A female police woman walked up to her. She wore the standard uniform with a puffy Jacket worn over it.

"Move along ma'am, nothing to see here. Just a small gas leak that caught, fire." she reported.

"I… I know these people who live here." Arcee said through the hologram, her voice shaking, "Are they..?"

"No bodies that we could fine ma'am, they might have been out when the explosion lit up the house." the policewoman said comfortingly.

Arcee scanned the area more closely. She'd be inclined to believe the policewoman… if it weren't for the fact that the debris was caved _in_ not out. Had the house exploded from a gas leak like the officer suggested, then the debris would litter the lawn. Instead, it littered the inside of the house.

Sadie looked at the policewoman, who seemed slightly annoyed by Arcee not leaving, "Just out of curiosity, who called in the explosion?" she asked.

"Group of repairmen in a green van. They left right as we got here. They were working on some telephone cables when it happened." She crossed her arms, "Now please ma'am, move along."

Sadie nodded, "Right sorry, I'll be on my way."

Arcee turned around and took off down the street. The explosion, green van… No way this was an accident. Couldn't be the cons, they weren't this subtle. That left only one other group that would want June and Jack…

MECH.

Her Energon practically froze and Arcee gunned the throttle, speeding to base. Her mind was in rapid fire mode. If MECH had Jack and June… She might not have enough time to save them…

_Autobot HQ…_

"Send the coordinates Agent Fowler." Raf said, "We'll make sure Optimus gets them."

The agents face nodded on screen, "Alright, just make sure he contacts me for confirmation."

His face blinked off screen. Once he was gone, Bumblebee immediately began punching in the coordinates. The coordinates to the MECH base where they more than likely had his T-Cog.

Raf looked at his guardian with concern, "Bee, just… be careful, okay?" he said.

The scout looked to him and let out a series of comforting whirrs and beeps. He may not have been able to speak, but his face and door wings said what he couldn't.

The bridge swirled to life in the tunnel, and Bee turned, about ready to head through. That was until Arcee practically crashed driving into base. She transformed and stumbled forward, her servos crushing the railing as she struggled not to fall over.

On instinct, Bumblebee ran to her side, helping her up. He beeped out a question, and Arcee shook her head.

"Bee, they're gone, Jack and June are gone."

"Whoa wait, what!?" Miko and Raf yelled in unison, "How?"

"I don't know, but it looks like their house was assaulted. They're the only ones who would actively hunt them down, after the trouble Jack caused them." Arcee said. She only then noticed the bridge still open.

She narrowed her optics, and Bee's door wings drooped, "Bee… What where you planning to do?" she demanded.

"Wait, Arcee." Raf said, "Fowler called with the location of a MECH base. Bee was going to try and take his T-Cog back. Maybe Jack and Mrs. Darby are there too."

Arcee blinked once, then turned to Bee, "I'm coming with you, and if you say a word I'll tell Optimus what you were planning." she threatened.

He let out another series of whirring protests. Arcee blinked, "Oh… right, you were going to let me come anyway."

The scout nodded, "Then what are you waiting for!?" Miko demanded, "GO!"

The two nodded and ran through the portal. The bridge closed swiftly behind them. Miko looked at Raf, "You think they'll find Jack and his mom?" she asked.

The boy looked at his feet, "I hope so."

_MECH BASE…_

The dozen MECH goons had circled Jack, their rifles pointed directly at him. The fledgling, stood slightly crouched, hands still spread. His lips were parted in a feral snarl, his fangs dripping with saliva. His glowing red eyes darted from soldier to soldier. The look in his eyes was one of pure and utter hunger.

Fresh blood was everywhere, just waiting for its delicate packaging to be split, its contents released. The teen licked a tongue over his fangs his mouth watering.

June watched with horrified anticipation. She knew what had happened to Jack, why he had gone so feral and seemed so animal.

Blood Rage…

The two words echoed in Junes mind, and she felt immense pity for the soldiers. According to that book, a blood rage made fledglings vicious, unstoppable, and without mercy. Any human caught in their path was almost guaranteed to be left in pieces. June just hoped Jack would be able to recover from it.

"Stand down kid!" One of the soldiers, who had a bandage wrapped around his forearm, ordered.

Jack hissed, but said nothing. The soldiers readied their rifles, "Stand down NOW!" he ordered again.

"Alright, that's it!" The man yelled, "Waste the bra-"

He was cut off as Jack lunged forward, mouth gaping. He had time to scream and fire one shot before Jack landed in front of him, wrenched his rifle up, and bit into the man's bandaged arm. He screamed as Jacks fangs bit in deep, past the muscle and veins, past the tendons, until they scraped against bone.

The boy put his foot against the man's chest, and whipped his head back. There was a sickening tearing sound as the man's entire fore arm was torn clean off, clenched tightly in Jacks maw. The man stumbled back screaming, blood gushing from the wound, slickening the floor. All of this happened in an instant. Soon as the man fell on his ass, the remaining soldiers opened fire.

Jack was a blur as he ducked under the fire, dodging the bullets with instinctual ease. Those he didn't dodge made little impact on him. The wounds healed faster than they could inflict them, leaving Jack free to attack his next target.

The blood raged fledgling tackled another soldier to the ground, burying his fangs deep into his neck. He ripped the man's throat out with ease, before pulling the knife from the soldiers belt and flinging it end over end into another man's eye. He screamed bloody murder as he fired into the ceiling, and the men scattered, putting distance between themselves and the murderous vampire.

Jack stood and sprinted at the nearest man, who'd foolishly separated himself from the rest of the soldiers. "STAY BACK YOU FREAK, I'LL SHOOT, I FUCKING MEAN IT!" he screamed.

He fired at Jack as he closed the distance, only to stop, gasping low and weak as a disgusting gurgling sound emanated from his chest. Jacks hand, shaped like a spear, pierced his chest, emerging on the other side coated in blood. He ripped his arm out of the man's chest, and the man promptly crumpled onto the floor, blood pooling around him.

The boy whirled around and snarled leaping up as a hail of bullets tore into the spot where he'd just been. He never came down. Two men who'd paired together and cowered at the edge of the dimly lit room looked around nervously. The armless man could be heard still screaming in pain.

"Shit man, where'd he go?" one asked. The other flicked on a flashlight, and scanned the area.

"No idea, keep looking. He can't have gone far." The two spread out slightly, looking for signs of the boy. June watched with abstract horror.

"Nothing, I can't see the little shit!" the first cursed. Something wet dripped onto his shoulder. He ran a finger over his shoulder, only to see blood. Shaking, he slowly pointed his flashlight up at the ceiling. Jack stared back down, pupils dilated, his face, hand and shirt dripping with blood.

He let out an ear splitting hiss and fell to the ground, using the man as a spring board. His spine snapped with an audible crack, and Jack leapt onto the other man. Gripping his shoulders, Jack flipped over the man, and flung him forward into the ground. He screamed as his nose practically shattered, and blood oozed from the injury.

He looked up, cradling the injured snout with one hand, while pointing his gun with the other. he heard a growl behind him and turned in time for Jacks open palm to slam into his face. The man screamed in agony, Jack still gripping his face. He reared the man's body back, before slamming his skull into the concrete floor. All that remained was a bloody stump.

Springing up, he charged at the remaining five men, weaving between their shots. He brought his fist back, and slammed it into the lead soldiers face. He practically flew backwards, his face caved in from the blow. Sliding on his knees, the boy flip kicked the next man, snapping his jaw and killing him instantly.

The three remaining soldiers opened fire as Jack approached. The boy strode forward, the rounds ripping into him, his own blood pouring from each injury. His clothes were stained red from his combat. He let out a feral hiss and leapt forward.

He landed behind one of the soldiers and wrapped an arm around his neck. There was a snap as his neck broke from a quick jerk. Jack dropped the body and lunged into the next man, slashing his hand to the side. The man's ribs shattered, peaking through his body armor, and he fell to the ground, a rib having pierced his heart.

The remaining soldier backed away slowly, the screaming of the armless man having been reduced to a whimper. Jack slowly stood, straightening himself up. He turned to the soldier, his mouth wide in a creepy smile as he slowly stalked forward. Blood dripped from his face, and his red eyes were glowing bright red.

"Look kid, j-just let me go!" he begged, his hand shaking as he held his rifle at Jacks head, "Please, I was just following orders! I don't want to die!"

He fired a three round burst into Jacks chest. The boy continues to strode forward, the bullets bouncing onto the floor as he healed. His shirts were in tatters by this point. Though he didn't seem to care all that much.

"Please, I don't want to-" Jack interrupted him, punching him into the gut. The man coughed up blood and fell to his knees. Jack kneed him in the face. The man whipped back onto the ground. His eyes shot open and he only had time to scream as Jack descended on him.

Sickening crunching echoed through the now silent room, and the boys figure could be seen hunched over the body, occasionally moving. Blood spurted out from near his head as the fledgling had his first true feeding.

June could only hear it, she'd averted her eyes long ago. She didn't need to see it, no one did. When Jack came to his senses, he'd be devastated by what he'd done. All she could do, was wait.

Flesh tore and blood rippled down the corpse as the fledgling fed, fully satiating himself since having been turned. New energy flowed into his limbs, and the blood that coated his body seemed to fade away. Black and red energy swirled over his form for a brief moment, leaving his tattered clothes whole again.

Slowly, as he fed, the blood rage faded, his eyes returned to their normal red, the glow fading away. Jack froze mid bit, suddenly fully aware of his position, what he was doing, and what he had done.

He stood up, staggering away from the corpses, his entire being filled with revulsion. He wanted to vomit, to be sick, to have a human reaction. He felt none of these. Instead, he felt full, satisfied. Once he was out of the pools of blood, he fell to his knees, tears rolling down his face.

Twelve men, all dead. Twelve men left in pieces in a single room. Twelve men he'd mercilessly slaughtered and even eaten. And yet, he felt nothing. He felt guilt, but nothing else, no disgust but his minds. His body did not agree with his mind.

"Jack…" June called softly. Jacks head shot up, and he looked to June, the guilt plastered across his face.

He stood back up and walked towards her, "I-I'm sorry mom… I-I couldn't… couldn't control myself."

He clenched his eyes again, suppressing the tears. He took a step forward and ripped the bindings off his mother with surprising ease. She sat up, rubbing her arms to get some feeling back into them. Jack took a step back, keeping his distance.

June swung her legs off the table and stood, brushing herself off. Jack averted his eyes, too ashamed of his actions to even make eye contact. This meant he was shocked when his mom embraced him in a hug.

"What?" he stood stock still, not trusting himself.

"I'm so happy you're okay." she whispered.

Jack blinked once, "But… how? I killed all those men, I _ate_ one of them! Why are you acting like this? You should be disgusted with me!"

June held him tightly, "Honey, I can't be disgusted with you. I am your mother, no matter what I will love you. And I know you didn't mean it, that the real you would never act that way, never do that, not unless it was in self defense."

She pulled away, "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Jack still looked unsure of himself, though his shame seemed to have lessened. It'd have to do for now.

"Come on, we need to find a way out of here. Get home." she said.

Jack perked up, "Right, I'll lead. I'm more durable."

He took lead, leading her through the path with the least amount of blood and gore coating the floor. He tried his best to avoid looking at the corpses and their accusing dead eyes. This was not something he needed to remember.

The two stepped into a much more brightly lit hallway, causing Jack to shield his eyes from the sudden increase in light. He assumed his mortal mask in order to best protect himself from the piercing light. Made his skin prickle.

The two moved through the halls quickly and relatively silent. Jack took an occasional sniff of the air, but smelled nothing. No humans anywhere nearby. He let out a small sigh of relief.

Suddenly, the base shuddered, causing the Jack and his mom to stumble to the side. Bits of dust rained from the ceiling, and the lights flickered. Jack and June exchanged looks.

"You think its…?" he asked.

"It has to be." she replied.

They took off down the hall, which twisted and turned into a maze of corridors. Jack growled in frustration. Halls without doors everywhere! Where the hell was the exit!? They came to a stop at an intersection. Jack slammed his fist into the wall with frustration. Dust crumbled to the floor.

"Where's the exit!?" He yelled, "Who builds a basement like this!?"

The area shuddered again, more dust fell from the ceiling. Jack looked up, and saw a small crack in the ceiling. He scowled.

"Okay, screw this." he growled.

He crouched, "What are you doing?" June asked.

"Making our own exit!"

With that, he shot up, into the ceiling. His fist slammed into ceiling, spreading the cracks. He dug his fingers into the cracks, readjusting so that his feet rested on the ceiling. He pried at the plaster, skinning his knuckles and fingers. He ignored the stinging pain, and heaved.

Jack squeaked in surprise as the ceiling collapsed atop him, leaving a small hole there. He lay under plaster and other building material.

June peaked up through the hole and saw it lead into a janitors closet of some kind. "Good work Jack, you found our way out!" she praised.

"Wee yay." he said tiredly, still buried under the rubble. He rested his head on the ground, "Remind me to _not _stand under a collapsing ceiling."

"Noted," she said, and pried him free of the rubble.

He dusted himself off and looked from June to the hole in the ceiling. "Going up?" he kneeled down and formed a step with his hands.

"Thank you Jack." she said, stepping up onto his hand. He lifted her with ease, allowing the women to pull herself into the closet. Jack leapt up into it behind her.

Suddenly an explosion sounded through the base. Jacks head whipped to the side, and he moved to the door, peaking out. His heart nearly leapt for joy. Arcee and Bee stood in the main base, the scout cradling something in his servos. Arcee stood over him, placing a consoling servo on his shoulder.

Jack motioned for June to follow, and quickly checking to make sure he hadn't let his mortal mask fade away, the two ran into the hangar.

"Arcee!" he cried happily. For a brief moment, the slaughter of those MECH soldiers was a distant memory.

The femme turned her helm to see Jack, and a smile split her faceplate, "Jack! June!"

The human and vampire ran up to her as she knelt, "How'd you manage to find us?" June asked, concern obvious in her voice.

"Luck." Arcee admitted, "Fowler found the base… though, we weren't that lucky…"

She looked at Bumblebee with a forlorn expression. Jack saw a smoking circular object in his servos. Realization spread across Jacks face.

"Is that…"

"His T-Cog. Starscream shot it with a missile and then ran away." she growled.

She looked back at her partner, "How did you two even escape?" she asked.

"Ugh…" Jack started, rubbing the back of his head.

"The guards left in a hurry when you guys attacked. Kinda forgot about us." June answered quickly. Jack gave her a grateful look.

Arcee raised an optic ridge, seeming to question this answer. She had no time though, as a ground bridge opened at the open hangar doors of the base. Optimus, Bulkhead, and Ratchet stepped through. The Prime did not look happy…

_Autobot HQ…_

Jack sat with his mom, head buried in his hands. Bee and Raf had gone for a drive with his repaired T-Cog. Optimus hadn't bothered to scold the scout, having realized that his near lost of the T-Cog was enough punishment. Arcee, had not been so lucky. The Prime had reprimanded her for acting recklessly and not informing any of them that June and Jack had been captured.

In the end though, she remained unpunished since Jack and June _were _unharmed thanks to her interference… As far as they knew. Jack suppressed a shudder as memories of the slaughter floated through his mind. Since returning to base, memories of his blood rage flashed through his mind. The guilt alone was making him feel sick.

June placed a hand on his back, ignoring his flinch. He looked up from his hands. She gave him a comforting smile, "It's all over now Jack. Don't worry."

"I know." he whispered, "But I still remember it."

Concern spread on her face, but she remained silent. There was nothing she could say to help him feel better. Best to let him come to grips with the situation itself on his own. It was the only way he'd recover.

Raf and Miko walked up slowly, "You okay Jack?" Raf asked.

Jack smiled weakly, "Thanks Raf. Yeah I'm fine. Just coming off the adrenaline rush." he said.

"How come you get all the fun." Miko complained, crossing her arms.

Jack clenched his teeth, "Not sure getting abducted by MECH qualifies as fun Miko." he growled.

Before she could respond, the elevator opened and Fowler strode out. He looked nervous, and cast a quick glance at Jack and June before walking to the edge of the platform.

"Prime!" he called.

Said Prime turned to him, "Yes Agent Fowler?"

"Our boys cleared out that MECH base after you brought your people back. We found nothing, everything was wiped clean."

Jack felt relief at that, "Except for one thing. A video file."

And like that, the relief was gone. Jacks pulse sky rocketed, and his hands tightened. There was no way that there was a camera in that room… Right?

"Strange, but how is this relevant?" Optimus asked.

"Just open the file, my superiors sent it to Ratchets terminal." He cast a glance at Miko and Raf, "Though the kids won't want to stick around for it."

Miko huffed, "We can handle whatever they have recorded Fowler, we're not kids." Raf nodded in agreement.

"Fine," Fowler said. He turned back to Ratchet, "Play it."

Miko, Raf, Jack, and June walked to the edge. His knuckles were white as he gripped the railing.

_"Please don't let it be. Please please please please!"_ he pleaded silently.

The video started, and he nearly collapsed on the spot. An image of Jack, June, and Silas in that room. Jack was unconscious, his mouth bound tight.

Silas began his talk, and Jack was horrified. The video had sound quality, in fact the quality was startling sharp. He circled June, ranting as per usual. Then Jack began to stir. As Silas made his threat of using him and June for Project Chimera, Jacks eyes snapped open.

The teen slowly began backing away as the video played on. The bots and kids watched with morbid fascination as he ripped his bindings off and took three bullets to the chest. June averted her eyes as Silas fled. She didn't need to see this again.

The entire base grew deathly silent as the scene of death unfolded. Jack only had brief memories of what he'd done. He had no idea he'd done… that. The sounds of tearing flesh, shattering bones, blood spilling was all vividly loud. Jack felt himself pale, and his mortal mask faded unintentionally.

The last man died on screen as Jack fed on him, and his injuries faded. The video ended.

Morbid silence filled the base. It was so silent one could hear a pen drop. Slowly, every gaze turned towards Jack, who'd backed into a wall. He gulped nervously. No one moved. It seemed like they were trying to figure out what was going on.

Jacks pulse raced, sweat beaded on his forehead. They knew, oh god they knew! They knew what he was, what he'd done! They were going to capture him now, restrain him, arrest him!

"Jack-" Optimus started. The boy bolted, running as fast as his vampiric speed could take him. He leapt over Optimus and landed on the ground below, rolling forward before taking off. He managed to get about 100 feet before Arcee raced in front of him, transformed, and slammed him against the ground with her forearm.

He looked up at her optics, and saw no emotion. Her entire faceplate was blank, no emotion, except one. Confusion.

He gulped again, and looked at the bots, who'd surrounded him. "Ratchet." Optimus said, "Keep watch over June and the children, keep them as far from Jack as possible until we have determined the situation." he ordered.

Ratchet nodded and gestured for the three to get on his servo. June backed away from him, before bolting down the stairs towards the bots.

"Let go of my son!" she demanded.

Bulkhead slammed a pede in front of her, stopping her dead, "Lady, I don't know if you just saw that vid, but whatever the pit Jack is, it sure isn't your son."

June glared at the wrecker, before darting around him, only for Bulkhead to scoop her up, holding her tightly, "Stay still toots." he growled.

Optimus looked back at Jack, "Now, who are you, and what have you done with Jackson?"

**A/N: Leave Reviews with critique and PM me with questions and ideas. Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Mistaken Identity

_Autobot HQ…_

Jack didn't move while trapped under Arcee's large arm. He didn't even struggle. Strong as he was now, he was no match for the strength of a Cybertronian. Though he was pinned, his blood red eyes flicked from bot to bot, his mind taking stock of the entire situation.

Ratchet stood by his terminal, a protective servo shielding Miko and Raf from him. The two humans looked pale, scared, frightened… because of him. Bumblebee stood near Ratchet, his newly reactivated blasters pointed at Jack if he tried anything funny. Not that he would, even if Bulkhead didn't have his mom held firmly but gently in his large servo. His blaster was pointed at Jack as well.

Fowler, the idiot, stood on the platform, a grim and fearful look on his face. After what he'd just done, he had every right to be fearful. Jack was not happy with the man.

Arcee of course had him pinned to the ground, and Optimus stood behind her, peering over her shoulder. Jack made eye contact with the prime, and saw none of the emotions he normally saw in his optics. There was no warmth, no kindness in them. They were emotionless, unfeeling. The optics of someone prepared to carry out an unsavory task.

Jack shivered. If this was what it was like for the cons to fight Optimus, it was no wonder he was so vital to the team. He was utterly terrifying when angered.

"I will ask again," The Prime repeated, "Who are you, and what have you done with Jackson?"

The fledgling blinked once as the question sunk in. They… they didn't even think he was himself! What he'd done was so monstrous, what he was, was so monstrous that they could not believe that he was the same Jack that they knew and respected.

This made the words that came out of Jacks words even harder to say, "Optimus… it is me. I am Jack."

Arcee pressed her forearm down, making his breathing harder, "That's a load of scrap. Jack isn't some monster that would do… _that_." she growled, referring to what Jack had done to the MECH goons.

"Guys." Raf said quietly, "Maybe he's telling the truth, maybe it is Jack."

"Raf, you saw what that thing did. He practically _ate_ those MECH goons." Miko said. "I don't think Jack would do that."

The teen turned his head downcast at that. He closed his eyes and sighed, "What would it take to convince you that I am me?" he asked.

Arcee glared at him and tightened her arm on his chest, "Nothing, because you aren't Jack."

He let out a pained grunt, "Ask me something only I would know. I'll prove it."

"Son," Fowler started, "I doubt there's much you could say to convince us you are who you say you are. You barely even look like Jack."

A small part of Jack snapped, "You think I want to look like this!? That I wanted to kill those men!? I didn't! It was all by accident, instinct!"

"What kind of instinct would make a human do _that_?" Ratchet asked.

"It's not a human instinct." June said. She rested a head on her hand and drummed her fingers on his servo. It was pretty obvious she was getting annoyed.

"Not a… I'm sorry, what?" Ratchet asked. The bots all looked confused by what she'd said.

Jack closed his eyes, knowing what would come next. Best he said it instead of his mom, "Vampire. It's a vampire instinct."

The entire base was silent for a moment. No one said anything, Raf and Miko's faces paled and Fowler seemed skeptical.

"A what?" Bulkhead finally asked, "The frag is a vampire?"

"It's an immortal being and sub species of human that subsist entirely on human blood." another female voice said.

"No," Jack whispered, "Please not her, not now."

Mariana literally rose out from the ground next to Fowler, "What in the Sam Hell!?" he yelped, jumping away.

The Vampiress wore a red blouse with a black vest over it, and a pair of black slacks. Her long black hair fell down her shoulders, coming to a stop at the small of her back. She still wore those glasses, and combat boots.

The weapons suddenly moved from focusing on Jack to Mariana. She didn't look intimidated in the slightest. In fact, she seemed more amused if anything.

"Who are you?" Optimus demanded, "And how did you get into our base, let alone find it?"

Mariana grinned, a literally ear splitting grin that bared her entire mouth full of fangs. With little effort, she hopped up onto the railing, standing stock still on it. She didn't even sway to keep her balance.

She bowed, "I have many names, but you can call me Mariana, Queen of the Vampires."

She stood back up, grin still present, "YOU!" June hissed, a furious look on her face, "You're the _bitch _who did that to my son!" she screeched angrily. Bulkhead struggled to hold her.

Mariana ignored June, "Okay wait," Arcee said, her faceplate showing how confused she was, "Let's take this from the top. What is a Vampire?"

The supposed Queen let out a dramatic sigh, "Nobody listens the first time anymore, event the giant alien robots."

She looked back up, her glasses lowered, "A vampire, and make sure to keep focused this time, don't want to strain those tiny minds of yours." glares where directed at her, which she ignored.

"Is an immortal being and Sub-Species of human. They are faster, stronger, and more intelligent than humans, but require human blood in order to maintain themselves. Normal foods provide no satiation, and have little to no taste." she explained, then looked directly at Jack.

"And Jack, is one of them, courtesy of yours truly."

"You…_eat_ humans!?" Ratchet said in disbelieving disgust.

"Did I stutter?"

The medic glared at her, and his servo practically covered Miko and Raf.

"Oh relax robot. If I wanted to feed right now, you wouldn't even know I was here." she grinned. "Well until you found the body." Fowler promptly took another five steps away from her.

She wrinkled her nose, "Don't flatter yourself honey. You're more fat then blood, hate feeding off humans like that. Platelets get stuck in my teeth,"

Optimus stepped forward, having heard enough, "Why are you here? You clearly didn't come to mock us, and I will not tolerate threats towards our human allies."

She shrugged, "Just wanted to say hello to my new little fledgling." she cooed, looking directly at Jack, "And to congratulate him on his first real feeding!"

Arcee blinked once, then her processor made the connection. She promptly let Jack up, and unfolded her arms into blasters, pointed at Mariana, "You have exactly five seconds to tell me why I shouldn't reduce you to ash for what you did to Jack." she growled.

"Well for one," Mariana started, counting off her fingers, "You couldn't if you tried. And two, if you don't want to kill Jack, you'll let me live."

There was a silence as Jack slowly got off the ground, filling his lungs completely with air again. Once he regained his composure, he glared at Mariana.

"And why is that?" June finally ground out.

"Because if you do, not only will I die, but so will Jack and several thousand other vampires all over the globe. And you wouldn't want to be responsible for that, would you?" she asked sweetly.

Jack remembered that from the book. If someone killed a fledglings master, then the fledgling died too. There was nothing the bots could do against her, because killing her would kill him. That's why Mariana was acting so casual, she knew they wouldn't be able to do it.

June glared at the vampiress, "Maybe, but according to that book, if a fledgling that _you _created kills you, none of them will die. Including the fledgling."

A flicker of shock passed over Mariana's face before she drew her lips tight, "True mortal, true. thing is though, I am the oldest living Vampire alive. No fledgling could hope to kill me in a fight." she grinned wildly, "Even your little brat, you cow."

Jack clenched his fists, glaring angrily at the vampiress. Mariana noticed this and let out a laugh, "Oh, did I pinch a nerve there? Is the little Jack going to throw a temper tantrum?"

She tilted her head back and laughed louder, a full throated laugh, that echoed through the base. Her fangs flashed in the light, and the bots looked at her with disgust. June with fury, Jack with anger. Miko and Raf hid behind Ratchet's servos, terrified of the psychopath.

Her laugh stopped as suddenly as it began, and she leapt from the rail, landing lightly at the base of the platform. She walked forward until she was about five feet away from Jack.

The women raised her arms out to the side, "Well come on then Jackson. You want a chance to be free of me? Take it, fight me, kill me, cut off my head, rip out my heart."

Jack's fist tightened, and his eyes narrowed. He wanted nothing more than to kill that women. To watch her die. But he knew that he couldn't fight her. Not now, not yet.

"No." he ground out. Several of the bots looked at him shocked. Only Optimus and June seemed unaffected by this.

"Excuse me?" Mariana growled, arms dropping to her side, "Did you just say no?"

Jack met her eyes, "I won't fight you. You're just bating me, so you can beat the crap out of me again."

Mariana frowned, her brows clenched, "Funny, I thought you'd want to stop me." she shrugged, "Oh well, I suppose that if you won't fight me, I'll just turn your friends then."

Jacks eyes shot wide open. Mariana smiled faintly, "But your mother, oh no. She doesn't get that privilege. Maybe once I've turned your friends, I'll have some of my other vampires take her. They'll have all sorts of fun with her, make her scream all night. Then-"

The fledgling snarled, his pupils dilated, teeth bared. He lunged at Mariana, aiming to take off her head. She moved out of the way at a speed that humans couldn't track, and grabbed him by the right arm. She slammed her knee into his back, and proceeded to slam him into the floor. His anger gone, Jack realized she'd baited him. Easily.

She gripped his arm and wrenched it back painfully, "You're powerful for a fledgling kid, I'll give you that," she pulled on the arm, "But you'll never be able to beat me head on. I'm one of the originals, one of the oldest. I am the Queen of the vampires, and you, well." she heaved on his arm.

Jack screamed bloody murder, his arm cracking. Bone snapped and flesh tore. With a singular heave, she tore his entire arm off! His howl of pain practically shook the base, and he rolled onto his back, his remaining hand grasping the injury, trying to slow the gushing river of blood pouring from his injury.

"Jack!" Several voices cried at once. Bulkhead let June go and she rushed to his side, Arcee doing the same.

Mariana let out a dark laugh, tossing Jacks dismembered limb to the side. It disintegrated into a fine grey dust in seconds. Optimus and Bulkhead surrounded her, Blasters pointed at her. She laughed again.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got things to do." she waved her hand goodbye, "Toodles!" black shadow coated her body, and she melted into the floor, vanishing.

Optimus and Bulkhead lowered their blasters, and rushed over to Jack, who Ratchet was trying to move carefully, given his injury. The boy lay curled in a ball, a pool of blood accumulating underneath him.

"Nurse Darby," Ratchet started, "Since Jack isn't, well… You know, do we have to worry about the bleeding?"

June helped Jack onto Ratchets servo, the blood staining the medics servo a rusted color, "I don't think so. But we still need to stop it, otherwise Jack will… he'll need to feed when he wakes up."

The bots exchanged looks before Ratchet moved Jack into the med bay, setting him on a berth. The boy let out a groan and shivered, "Alright, " June started, "Let's start by-"

She never finished as Jack suddenly rolled on his back and screamed, his eyes going wide, his fangs shining in the light. Everyone covered their ears, as the noise caught them off guard.

"Why is he doing that!?" Miko yelled as Jack continued to scream.

"I don't know, maybe… Look!" June said, pointing to the stump at his shoulder. All the blood from the floor, the berth, and Ratchets servo was slowly flowing up to the stump, coalescing into a thick body of thick pulsing blood. Its dark red form slowly blackened in the middle, and began to take a shape.

It thinned out near the end, while the other end near his shoulder reattached itself. The free end started splitting, splitting into five small bumps that elongated into tendrils. Then the entire liquid seemed to grow solid, and color began to fade. Slowly but surely, the blood was gone, and a new uninjured arm lay in its place, firmly attached to Jacks shoulder.

June rushed over to Jacks side, and immediately began checking over the new appendage. Her eyes widened in shock, "This… is incredible. His entire body created an entirely new limb just from the loss of blood alone. That shouldn't be possible!"

The bots all looked down at this in shock. The humans watched from above with rapt interest, their fear gone for now.

Jack let out a groan and his eyes fluttered open weakly, "Ow." he muttered.

June knelt next to him, "How do you feel honey?"

He blinked once, then smiled sheepishly, "Hungry."

_Later…_

Jack sat on the berth, an empty black container lying on the stand next to him. He kept his head bowed for the moment, occasionally suppressing a shiver as the cold air of the base occasionally brushed against his newly reformed limb. He found it very unfair that his vampiric powers could repair bullet holes in his shirt and clean bloodstains off it, but not bother to rebuild his shirt along with his missing appendage.

But that was the least of his worries. At the moment, he had just finished explaining his plight to the Autobots, and his friends. He hated reliving the memories, or retelling them, but they deserved to know, after Mariana's… visit.

Miko, being Miko, was the first to speak, "So… why is it that when you came to base, you were acting all antsy around us? You kept avoiding us like we had the plague or something."

"...Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to be around you?" Jack asked.

Miko cocked her head, "I can't be _that _ bad of company." she huffed.

"It's not that...It's just that...I couldn't stand being near you without every one of my new instincts telling me to rip your throat out..." Jack said, his face downcast, Miko backed up, a look of shock passing over her face. They all heard the heavy footfalls of Bulkhead as he moved and tried to pick her up.

"Wha...Why would you want to do that...?" Raf asked, his own eyes wide. Bee seemed to ask the same in his own language.

"I DON'T _WANT_ TO! That's the point! It's just..." he looked Miko right in the eye, saw her flinching at the red eyes that stared back at her. "Do you have _any_ idea how..._delicious_ you smell right now?" he asked.

Miko's face flush red. "Dude! Do I _look_ like I use Meat Tenderizer for body lotion?"

"It isn't that..." Jack paused, as he thought how best to explain this without it getting even _more_ weird.

"Then _what _is it?" Bulkhead growled, making sure to keep himself between Miko and Jack.

"Virgins."

Everyone turned and looked at June, who was looking hard and Miko and Raf, who were both staring back at her wide-eyed.

"What?" Fowler asked.

"There is nothing more appetizing to a Vampire than the smell of a Virgin's blood, and there's nothing _sweeter_ than the taste, either, unless it's a pregnant woman." June said, cringing at the looks everyone was giving her, and the horrified look that was on Jack's face.

"How do _you_ know?" Miko asked, then smirked, "And what makes you think I'm a virgin anyway? I've got three Vibrators at-"

"Doesn't count." Jack interrupted, to everyone's utter relief.

Miko turned and looked at him. "What do you mean? 'Doesn't count'?"

"Exactly what I said. Doesn't count, has to be with something that is alive. A piece of plastic isn't good enough. Besides..." he paused, took a sniff, then continued. "I can _smell_ that you are."

"So _now_ what?" Bulkhead asked. June sighed.

"I've put Jack on...'medication' until he learns to fully control his condition..."

"'Medication'?" Fowler asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Blood transfusion packs, from the Hospital." June said, then she added, "And as to /how/ I know, well, I've been reading more of that little book that Jack has."

"Isn't that a bit risky? Surely they'll notice packs are going missing, and they'll investigate. And what 'book' do you mean?" Arcee asked.

June nodded at Arcee's point, "There is that possibility."

Jack shrugged, "There's always rats." he tried to smile at the thought of eating rats, but he just couldn't.

"No son of mine is going to be eating _rats_!" June snapped. Then she calmed down and continued, "We can manage with the blood packs, until you learn to go longer without feeding, and as for the book, it's sort of the Vampire 101 Handbook, it was giving to him by the..._thing_ that did this to him."

Jack looked at Miko "So until I learn to control this, and learn to be able to stand being around you and Raf, you might want consider _doing_ something about it."

Miko blinked, staring at him uncomprehendingly, until it seemed to click, and she scowled.

"Dude! Did you just tell me to go and get _laid?" _the room went quiet at that. June and Arcee both gasped as they stared goggle-eyed at Jack.

"JACK!" June snapped.

Jack was completely deadpan.

"No. I told you to go and tap dance to the _Nutcracker Suite_ through the centre of Jasper while wearing a pink Tutu." he said in a monotone voice.

Miko's eyes twitched. Both of them.

"I can't believe that… you would… I mean.. GAH!" she huffed angrily.

"It's either that, or learn to deal with the fact that I might ogle you like a steak dinner." Jack said in deadpan.

Arcee pinched the bridge of her 'nose', "Look, I can handle all this, but what I want to know, is why you lied to us Jack?" she demanded.

The teen looked back down again, "Because this isn't your guys problem. It should be mine, it's my fault I got into this situation."

June frowned, "Jack, you were just doing what anyone would have done in your situation, you couldn't have known that _it _would be waiting for you there."

Jack growled and slammed his hand against the table, "No it is my fault!" he yelled, "Don't you get it!? If I had done the sensible thing and called the cops, I wouldn't be a blood sucking monster afraid of eating his own friends!"

There was a silence from the base as Jack continued, "But I didn't, I was cocky, let my ego get the best of me. I thought, since I could handle a trip to another planet, I could handle whatever was making that women scream."

He shuddered and buried his head in his hands, "I was wrong… so very wrong."

Arcee knelt by her charge, and put a servo on his shoulder. Only now did she notice how much colder he was compared to before. Like a Cybertronian, he gave off very little heat.

"Jack, if anyone's to blame, it's me. I should have been there for you, had I picked you up, you'd still be human."

Jack looked up from his hands, and saw the guilt written across her faceplate. She truly did believe that she was responsible for his condition. That if she'd been there, he would be okay. He felt a faint warmth in his chest at the concern, and an ache that she blamed herself.

He suddenly stood with a determined look on his face, "It doesn't matter whose fault it is though. Fact is, Mariana has more vampires in Jasper. I don't know the number, she wouldn't tell me. But she needs to be stopped, needs to be killed. If she is, the remaining Vampires will scatter. It's like Optimus said." he looked at the Prime.

"You can derail an army by removing its head."

_Elsewhere…_

The room was roughly 20x20, and decorated sparingly, not a single item occupying it. There was no light, no light bulbs, no windows. The only item in the room, was a single elegant chair, which was more of a throne, that sat dead center in the middle. A nightstand sat next to it, with a bottle of what appeared to be wine and two wine glasses resting a top it.

One was full, and was lifted gingerly by the pale slender hand. Mariana tilted the drink back, letting the blood pour down her gullet. She still wore her red blouse and black pants, but now she was barefoot, and the blouse was unbuttoned. She wore nothing underneath. She licked her tongue over her lips once she'd drained it.

"Say what you will." she whispered, "The more you let it age… the better it tastes." she grinned into the darkness.

Things were going better then she'd hoped. At the moment Jack was going through a stage not to uncommon for Vampires to go through. Attempting to overthrow their master. She let out a single laugh as memories of past failed attempts flashed through her mind. Time and time again fledglings tried and failed to kill her. Either to win their freedom, or to steal her power, the result was always the same.

The glass shattered in her hand, cutting into her flesh, "_Death."_

She sprinkled the remains of the cup onto the floor, as a knocking sounded on the heavy metal door that lead into her room. She stood and let the wounds on her hand heal before buttoning her blouse back up.

"Enter." she said curtly.

A single vampire servant entered and knelt before her. She was young, even by human standards, barely an adult when she'd been turned. She had burning red hair, which offset nicely with her pale skin and red eyes. She was also one of the few vampires who kept their teeth in the more traditional role, instead of fully fanged like Mariana preferred.

"Master, the final members of the police force have been turned, you now have ten new members to add to your army." she reported.

The Queen frowned, "Only ten? There were at least twenty members left untouched by our greatness."

The fledgling bowed her head, "According to the police chief, half of them refused the gift, even tried to kill them on the spot."

Mariana grinned widely, "And I take it that didn't end too well for them?"

The girl licked her lips, "We invited them for dinner instead. The police chief wants to know your next target."

"The political structure, the higher ups MUST be turned if my plan is to succeed. I will personally turn them myself though. Those are my orders."

The fledgling nodded and stood, keeping her head bowed, "As you wish, master."

She turned to leave, before Mariana raised a hand, "Wait." she ordered.

The young vampiress turned back to her master, "I have a personal assignment for you." Mariana said.

She stepped down the small dais from the throne, and walked to her fledgling, her bare feet patting lightly against the floor, "There is a fledgling of mine, he was turned recently and has just fed on his first human. Yet despite this, he continues to defy me. I want you to show him the errors of his ways, convince him to join us. Do this, and you shall be handsomely rewarded Sierra."

Sierra's blood red eyes sparkled, "Rewarded master?"

The ancient vampire leaned forward and licked her tongue along Sierra's bite marks. Few areas on a vampires body could inspire pleasure, the area where they were bitten though, was one of the most sensitive areas. Sierra shivered.

Mariana stood up straight, "You know what to do."

Sierra blinked once and then nodded, "Yes master, I do. What is this fledglings name?"

"His name is Jackson Darby, I believe you know him?"

Sierra grinned widely, "Oh yes, I know him." She knew him all too well. This was one mission, she wouldn't fail.

**A/N: And so the plot thickens. So what'd you guys think huh? Good, bad, meh? Let me know in the reviews below, and PM me with ideas and questions. One quick announcement, Thursday may be my last update day in a while, as Friday I get my wisdom teeth pulled. Just a heads up. Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Club

_Autobot HQ…_

_Each and every vampire created is unique in some sense of the word. And not your typical unique in physical appearance and strength. Each vampire has something that they are especially good at. _

_This can vary from the use of the "black magic" so commonly employed, to incredible speed, or regenerative abilities that render them nearly impossible to kill. The traditional method of removing the head then piercing the heart is almost impossible to accomplish, as they can recover even from that. Only the entire incineration of their being will lead to permanent death._

_However, there is one other form of unique ability a vampire can posses. Some vampires, though these are rare, posses all three of these traits. Their speed and strength is incredible, their magic unfathomable, and they can be ripped to shreds, and still regenerate._

_These vampires though, are rare, and old. Only one example of a fledgling having this ability has been recorded, and he has since been killed. Since then, no vampire has exhibited these traits._

"Hey Jack whatcha reading?" Miko asked, leaning over the couch. The fledgling promptly slammed the book shut before she could read any of it.

"Nothing you need to worry about Miko." Jack replied. Though everyone now knew what he was thanks to the events of the day before, Jack still wasn't comfortable bringing it up around the others.

The most he did was drop his mortal mask around them. It was difficult to maintain it all the time, and made him hungrier quicker than usual. So his reasoning was that he didn't need to use it if he was among friends.

The girl looked at the book in his hand, a brief mischievous look on her face. Jack didn't like that look. Not one bit. Quick as a flash, she'd snatched it out of Jacks hands, running in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" he called after her, practically leaping off the couch. He vaulted over the furniture with ease and took off after her.

She got about ten more feet before Jack slid in front of her, and snatched it out of her hands. He narrowed his eyes at her angrily.

"Not cool Miko," Jack growled.

"Hey, just wanted to see what you were reading." Miko said defensively, taking a single step back. Whether Jack meant it or not, his red eyes made him appear _very _intimidating.

He sighed, "This isn't a book you _need _or would _want_to read Miko." he explained, "It's the only reason I know as much about my condition as I do."

Raf peeked over the couch, "You mean that's the book that…"

"It's a detailed guide to vampirism and how to live with it." Jack said, hanging his head.

"It also may hold the key to killing Mariana once and for all." he added, looking back up.

"That is, if we can find that glitch." Arcee growled, she and the other bots, Bulkhead and Bee, walking up to the platform.

"We haven't seen any sign of her, or been able to find her since she left the base." she continued.

Jack walked to the edge of the railing, frowning, "And we probably never will. Even if she is a little insane-"

"A little? The chick is fragging bonkers!" Bulkhead interrupted.

"Anyway," Jack continued, "Even if she is insane, she's smart. She knows that you guys are dangerous to her. She probably has a base of operations where she and her… followers, meet and stay hidden."

"And you're sure you have no idea where she might be?" Arcee asked.

He shook his head, "None. She doesn't trust me with her plans, probably never will. I don't think she expected me to be this resistant."

He rubbed his arm at the spot where Mariana had torn it off. Not even a scar had been visible on his arm, it was as if nothing had ever happened to it.

Arcee noticed the gesture, "How are you holding up after Mariana…"

"Ripped my arm off?" Jack finished. After having seen and done what he'd done, gore wasn't having much of an impact on him anymore.

Arcee nodded, "Fine actually," Jack admitted, "Doesn't even feel like it was ever gone." he rolled his shoulder to make a point.

"I think it might have been related to the 'gift' that a vampire has." he added.

"Gift? That women gave you a _gift_?" Miko asked incredulously.

"Not that kind of gift Miko." Jack answered.

He held up the book in his new hand, "According to this, every vampire is… reborn, with a specific gift. Some have enhanced speed and strength, some have strong powers, others are nearly impossible to kill. They regenerate _very_ quickly."

He flexed the arm again, "I think mine might be that last one."

"You think, or you know?" Bulkhead asked.

"No way to know for certain Bulk." Jack winced, "Unless you want to cut my head off, see how long it takes for it to grow back."

Everyone stared at him as if he'd just grown another head, "I'm kidding!"

There was an exchange of looks and Jack sighed, "I was just trying to lighten things up. It's been kinda… tense around here since Fowler made his _brilliant _little revelation."

"Sorry Jack, it was just a dark joke." Arcee said.

Miko suddenly snapped her fingers and jumped up, "Dude, here's something we could do to see what you can do!"

Jack arched a brow. He didn't like where this was going, "And that'd be…"

"Well let's see how long your fangs are, they've got to be what, two three inches!?" she said excitedly.

Everyone looked at the possibly psychotic child with looks of shock, "What?"

"Why?" Jack asked. From the looks he got, his fangs were more terrifying then anything.

"Well, they look pretty cool, once you get over what you use them for." Miko said sheepishly.

The teen let out a sigh, "Fine fine, whatever. Just keep your neck and wrists clear, okay?"

Miko let out a happy chuckle, bouncing on her heels. Bulkhead meanwhile, watched with his optics narrowed and servos shifting between blaster and wrecking ball. The message was clear. If he even hurt Miko, he wouldn't live long enough to regret it.

Pulling a measuring tape seemingly from nowhere, Miko grinned, "Open wide sparkles, let's see what you got."

He glared at her, "I swear if you ever compare me to those _things _ever again Miko…"

She raised her hands in a defensive gesture as she walked forward, "Alright alright, sorry. Jeez, can't be that bad. Now open!"

Jack sighed and proceeded to open his mouth to the widest. As a human, that'd be a few inches, two or three, maybe four, tops. As a vampire though, his mouth proceeded to open nearly 8 inches from top to bottom, his fangs shining white from the base light.

Miko stepped up and stretched out the tape measure over his canines, the longest of his fangs. She took a moment then brought the tape back down, her eyes wide. Jack closed his chops with an audible _clop_.

"Satisfied?"

"Dude… Two and a half inches! Holy crap!" Miko said, looking at the tape measure, "How the pit do those things even fit in there?"

Jack shrugged, "I always did have a big mouth." he quipped.

_The Next Day, Darby Residence…_

"Me and my big mouth." Jack moaned. He had made the mistake of asking his mom if he could take another day off from school, all things considered.

Had he said nothing, he might have gotten away with missing another day. That said, the moment he mentioned it, June had been uncompromising. Jack was well fed now, his senses were starting to fall under his control, and June was working a light shift today. He would go to school whether he liked it or not.

So at the moment, the boy rode Arcee to school, his helmet nestled tightly onto his head. Arcee tilted her mirrors at him, "Something bugging you Jack?"

He looked down at her mirrors, his reflection staring back, "Actually, yeah. I don't know if I'll be able to handle going back to school yet Arcee." he admitted.

"It was one thing at base, but there are hundreds of people at school. What if… what if I can't control myself?" he hung his head as the two turned onto a street.

"You didn't seem to have any trouble around Miko and Raf." Arcee pointed out, "even though they were… What did you call it? Virgins?"

His face heated slightly, "Yeah, but that's different Arcee. Almost everyone at school is a virgin. I guess the best way to put it is that it would be like if you were trapped in a room full of Energon, but couldn't drink it."

The femme was silent as the analogy sunk in. Jacks reluctance to go to school made a little more sense. Cybertronians may not have a sense of smell like humans or vampires, but they could still get "hungry" in a sense. If their tank got low, it made them more desperate for the fuel source.

Arcee flicked her mirrors forward as the two pulled into the parking lot of the school. For the most part, the main building of the learning facility was one large brick building. It was three stories tall, with a small grassy area out front on either side of the stair well leading up to it.

As usual, the parking lot was nearly empty. It always was. Jack stepped off Arcee and took his helmet off, setting it into her subspace.

"Jack." the femme whispered, gaining his attention, "You can handle this. You were chosen to be an honorary Prime once. If anyone can handle this, you can."

He smiled faintly, "Thanks Cee, that means a lot."

Shouldering his bag, he trudged up the steps into the school building. He opened the door and his mouth started salivating almost instantly. If being with Miko and Raf had been torture, he'd just walked into his own personal hell. His senses were nearly overwhelmed by the sweet aroma of virgin blood that school was practically _swimming _in.

It took every bit of self control he had, but Jack managed to _not_ leap at the nearest passerby and rip their throat out. He clenched his eyes and exhaled, "Well Jack, best just get it over with." he muttered to himself, and trudged forward into his first class.

Biology.

He walked into the class and took a seat at the lab table, keeping his eyes to himself. He found it help him control his urges if he didn't _look _at the sacks of blood that were wondering around him. It didn't help much, but enough for the time.

Every student filed in, Miko taking a seat next to him. She nudged him in the ribs, "You going to be alright?" she whispered.

Jack's eyes flicked to her, "I'll be fine… I think. Long as no one cuts themselves, I think I can handle it."

At that moment the biology teacher walked in, "Alright students, today we're going to be doing blood tests!"

Jack's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets, "You can't be serious." he muttered. Miko scooted away from him, and he banged his head on the lab counter. It was going to be a _long _day…

_Lunch Period…_

The school cafeteria was a flurry of activity as students moved across it, moving into their standard social groups. What they did or talked about could be any ones guess. It could vary from boys, to girls, to pop culture. It was a cesspool of gossip and rumors. The cafeteria put simply, was where a person's social life either succeeded or collapsed.

None of this came to Jacks mind as he walked in. The only thing on his mind was the need to feed. He had no final period after Lunch, so really he didn't know why he came to the cafeteria. No, he did. He came to meet with Raf and Miko.

He scanned the area, ignoring the scent of the hundreds of bodies socializing. It wasn't good for him.

"Jack?" a voice said from behind.

The fledgling turned to see Sierra of all people standing behind him. She wore a purple shirt and dark blue skirt, with shin high brown boots. Her hair as usual was tied back in a ponytail.

"Sierra!" Jack squeaked, rubbing his head nervously. Even as a vampire he couldn't look the girl in the eye. Especially after Arcee had practically decimated his social life with that stunt she pulled when Optimus lost his memories.

"Hey," she said awkwardly, "I heard that you were sick, didn't know you'd be back so soon."

Jack blinked once, "I… oh yeah, that. It wasn't anything to bad, just a little cold, nothing I couldn't handle."

"That's good." Sierra said. She looked down at her feet, thinking about something it seemed.

Suddenly, she looked back up, "Hey, do you mind if I show you something?" she asked.

"Ugh… Show me something?" he asked, nervous.

"Well more like someone's. Little club of mine I started a little while back. Interested?" she asked, a hopeful tone in her voice.

"W-what's it for?" he stuttered.

She smiled, and his knees went a little weak. "Well you'd have to follow me, it's kind of a secret."

Jacks thoughts raced. On the one hand, Sierra wanted to take him to a secret club. On the other hand _Sierra _wanted to take _him _to a _secret_ club. It was practically a dream come true. Though he may be a vampire, he was also a boy.

"S-sure!" he said, smiling weakly.

Sierra grinned, and Jack could of sworn he saw something off with it. He shook it off and followed her out of the cafeteria. They went down a series of halls, and Jack began to wonder where this club was located.

The better question though, was why Sierra had invited _him _of all people to this club. He wasn't exactly high on the social ladder. Yet the girl always took an interest in him, for reasons he didn't know. He wasn't exactly complaining though.

Finally the two came to a stop on the second floor in front of one of the math classes. "Here we are." Sierra said, opening the door. Its hinges creaked as it swung open.

The room was your standard classroom, with a teacher's desk and whiteboard at one end, rows of desks on the other. The blinds were drawn shut, and half the lights where off. Vince, Sierra's friend, and several other students looked to Jack as he entered.

"Uh… Hi." he said sheepishly, waving with equal gusto.

Sierra shut the door behind him and looked to her friend, "Everyone here?" she asked.

The blonde nodded. Sierra grinned, "Good, I was getting tired of keeping these damned things in."

"What do you-" Jack practically froze at what he saw next. Every person in the room reached up to their eyes and plucked a pair of contacts out. After blinking a few times, he saw that their eyes were all blood red. Several pulled out damp clothes and wiped along their faces and neck. Their skin was unnaturally pale.

Once they were finished, several grinned, revealing sharp serrated teeth. Jack's eyes widened in utter shock. Sierra stepped in front of him. Her red hair looked like fire on her skull, and her red eyes practically shimmered in the dim light. She grinned, exposing long sharpened canines.

"Welcome to the club Jack." she said.

The teen stepped back warily, "What the hell is this?" he growled.

Vince snorted, "You really haven't figured it out? We're all Vampire's, like you Darby."

"But I'm not a-"

"Save the bullshit Darby." Vince growled, "You might _look _human, but you don't smell it."

Jack glared at the bully, hands clenched into fists. Before anything could escalate though, Sierra stepped between them ,"Boys, boys, calm down." she ordered.

The two relaxed slightly, "We're all friends here, all vampires here."

Jack was still tense, though slightly less so. His eyes flicked to Sierra, his mortal mask still on, "What is this Sierra? Why did you bring me here?"

She smiled sweetly at him, "To bring you amongst friends. Besides being vampires Jack, we all have one other thing I common."

Jack looked at her with disbelief, "And that'd be?"

"We were all turned by Mariana." One of the others, a boy with brown hair and slightly younger then Jack said. He wore two jackets, one with that was black leather and the other a white hoodie underneath.

"Bit us, told us what we were, and left. Sierra was the first, and when she met some of the others, she formed this club for us to meet at school, discuss our powers, and plans against Mariana."

That got his attention, "You actually want to… kill her? You have plans for it?"

Vince snorted again, "She turned us into blood sucking freaks, what do you think?"

Jack blinked once, absorbing everything he'd just learned. Then he came to a conclusion.

"I think that this is one hell of a club." he said, and let his mortal mask fade.

Several gasps emanated from the teenage vampires. Jack looked at them confused. "What?"

"H-how did you do that?" the boy asked.

"What? Hide my form? You mean you don't know how?" he asked, bewildered.

They shook their heads, minus Vince and Sierra, "No, we're still figuring out what we can and can't do. How long have you been a vampire?"

"Wednesday of last week." Jack answered.

More gasps, "How did you learn that so fast?"

Jack moved to sit on one of the desks, "Well, after Mariana… turned me, she gave me a little black book. It details _everything _that has to do with being a vampire. Limits, strengths, how to kill them, the different stages, _everything._"

The fledglings exchanged glances, "Didn't she give one to you guys?"

"No." was the unanimous answer. The boy stood from his chair and walked forward, "I'm the second oldest one here besides Sierra," he stated, "and I never even knew a Vampire could do that. By the way, my names Alex, Alex Mercer"

Jack looked at him with sympathy, "How much _do _you know?" he asked.

"Not much, the basics. That we need to drink blood, that we're faster, stronger, and smarter than the average human." Mercer answered.

Jack frowned, "What have you guys been using to satiate yourselves this whole time?" he had a feeling he knew the answer.

Several of the teens shuddered, "Rats, squirrels, stray cats mostly. We don't really _want _to feed on humans."

Jack raised a brow, "So you haven't ever tasted human blood before?" he asked.

"No, how would we be able to without killing someone?" Mercer asked.

Sierra stepped forward, "Only a few of us have really, and most of those were accidents."

Jack took in a deep breath, and pulled his backpack up, scrounging through it. Finally, he found one of two black canister's his mother had packed him. Fowler had ordered a month's worth of them after finding out Jacks condition, so he had blood to spare.

He tossed it to Mercer, "Here, share this. Animal blood isn't as good for us, that's 100% human blood." he told him.

The teen looked at the canister with shock, "How did you get a hold of this?" he asked. The others, two girls and another guy, crowded around Alex.

"My mother's a nurse at the local hospital… she smuggled a few blood packs out when Mariana… turned me." Jack explained.

"And be careful to take small sips, you might lose it if you drink too much at once."

Alex nodded and unscrewed the cap. Everyone in the room shuddered as the scent of human blood drifted through the room. He took a small sip of the canister, and let out a moan, pulling the canister away from his lips.

"Oh god that's delicious!" he cried. He handed it to one of the girls.

In a matter of seconds the canister was drained. All of the vamps seemed to be a little healthier, a little life in their eyes. Alex looked at Jack.

"Any chance you can bring more of those in tomorrow?" he asked.

Jack nodded, "I can, but only a canister at a time. Too much is just as bad as too little. Besides, don't need anyone eating anyone, do we?"

There were some nervous chuckles around the room. Suddenly the four gathered round Jack. Sierra, Vince, and her friend watched from behind.

"So?" one of the girls, a curly brunette, asked, "What else do you know?"

"Wendy right?" he asked, remembering the girl from Algebra.

She nodded, "Well, what do you want to know?" he asked.

A symphony of voices started begging questions from him. While this occurred, Vince tapped Sierra on the shoulder. The girl looked at the pale red haired vampire. He jerked his thumb to the door, and she nodded.

The two, plus her silent friend, exited the room for a moment. Once the door was shut, Sierra put her hands on her hips, glaring at Vince.

"What do you want, _Vinny?"_ she growled.

"The hell did you bring that loser here for!?" he demanded, "We were getting along fine without him."

"A little jealous Vince?" she asked.

The ginger let out a low hiss, "Of him? Fuck. No. What I want is to tear his damn throat out."

"Doesn't matter what you want Vince, I'm under orders from our master." Sierra crossed her arms.

Vince paled even further, "O-our m-master? She ordered this?"

"Yeah, she wants me to turn him to _our _way of thinking, like with the others. So if you have a problem with Jack being here, take it up with her." she growled.

"T-that won't be necessary." Vince said hurriedly, "But why him? I didn't even no she turned the loser."

"Turns out she did." Sierra said, "Idiot stumbled on our master while she was feeding. She was going to feed on him, but the guy actually had a pair and fought back. Shot her in the chest."

Vince sighed angrily, "Fine, but if he starts undoing our work, I'm eating him."

Sierra snorted and turned to the door, "Good luck with that. From what I heard, he's already more experienced with his powers then you. 14 kills."

She ignored the stunned look on Vince's face and re-entered as Jack was explaining what Mariana did to him yesterday.

"She tore your arm off!?" Wendy asked in horror.

Jack nodded, "This one right here," he said, holding out his right arm, "Tore it off and left me to die. Apparently though, I didn't. Arm reformed itself from my spilled blood. I think it's my natural vampire gift." he admitted.

He saw the confused looks on their faces and smiled. Looks like he found something to do during his last period after all…

_Later that day…_

The last of the "club" exited the room, except for Jack and Sierra. The latter was zipping his bag shut, while Sierra lounged against the desk. The final bell of the day had rung, and Jack was eager to get home. No one needed to know about the club though, not yet.

Once his bag was zipped up, he swung it over his shoulder and started for the door, "Wait, Jack." Sierra called.

He turned to the girl, who walked up to him, a nervous look on her face, "I wanted to… thank you, for what you're doing. None of us asked for this, but you've helped them learn more about what we are."

Jack put on an honest smile, which didn't appear so frightening with his mortal mask, "I was just happy to help." he admitted.

Sierra looped her arms around his neck and Jack went still, his eyes growing wide, "There is… one other thing… Vampires don't normally kiss, we can't feel that much on our mouths… but…"

She leaned forward and Jack suppressed a gasp as she lightly nibbled on the spot where'd he been bitten. The level of sensitivity there was incredibly, he'd never noticed that before. It was as if ecstasy were flooding his veins.

So when Sierra pulled away, he let out a disappointed moan, "Thank you." she whispered.

"Any time."

**A/N: So THIS is the last chapter before *Gulp* tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be up for writing again, so don't expect an update any time soon. But moving on, I have a small announcement. I am looking for an artist who would be willing to draw, paint, or whatever other media there is, a piece detailing all the different Jacks I've created from all my fics. If you're interested, PM me and let me know. Otherwise, leave a review or PM me with suggestions or questions. Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Night Excursions

_Jasper High…_

The door swung open as Jack walked down the steps, running a hand subconsciously over the bite mark. He could still feel when Sierra had… what had she called it? Necking? Yeah that was it. The equivalent of a vampiric kiss. He wasn't sure what that meant entirely, if Sierra was really interested in him or was just thanking him.

He really hoped it was the former though, the teen had worked for years trying to get the girls attention. Turns out all it took was teaching a bunch of fledglings about being a vampire. Who knew?

"Good day Jack?" Arcee asked as the boy straddled the seat.

For a brief moment, Jack debated whether or not he should mention the vampire club. Those kids had all been turned, against their will, by Mariana. But they were also vampires. And while the bots trusted him because they _knew _he could control his base instincts, would they trust these kids? Especially ones like Sierra and Vince?

"It was okay." Jack finally said as they drove out of the lot.

"Didn't eat anyone anyway." he said jokingly.

"Hmmm." Arcee said, the two taking the route out of Jasper, "Anything else?"

Jack grimaced, "The experiment in biology today was a blood test…"

Arcee's mirror flicked to look at him, "How did _that _go?"

"Better than you would think. I managed to go the whole time without losing it." Jack said, a hint of pride in his voice. He didn't mention the part afterwards where he had downed one of his two emergency blood packs. Best let her think best of him for self control.

"Well good. The others will be happy to see you're keeping control." Arcee said. Though the tone of her voice hid a sadness in it.

Jack frowned, "Arcee, something bothering you?" he asked.

Her mirror flicked forward and she remained silent.

"Arcee?"

The femme let out a sigh, "It's just… we wouldn't even need to have these conversations if I'd been there to pick you up that night." she finally admitted.

Jack looked at the femme with guilt, "Arcee, we've been over this. What happened to me… what I am… it's not your fault. No one could have guessed this would have happened, not even the bots. How were you supposed to know that a vampire would be between me and my home?"

Arcee sighed, "That's just it Jack. I couldn't, but I'm supposed to protect you from _any _possible danger. Even the ones we can't see coming."

The base doors slid open as the duo approached the mesa, allowing them into the base. The two came into the base, Arcee stopping to let Jack off. The fledgling took off his helmet and dropped his mortal mask, letting his vampiric form show. By this point, everyone was starting to get used to it.

Arcee went over to Ratchet and began talking while Jack walked up stairs to the platform. Miko was the first to run up to him, practically bouncing on his heels. That alone was enough worry for Jack. He became even more worried when Miko tossed something at him.

"Jack, heads up!" she yelled, as something flashed in the light towards him. The teens hand shot out and gripped the small object.

Almost immediately he wished he hadn't. A sizzling sound emanated from his hand, smoke began rising from the fist as well. Jack yelped and let go of the object, checking his appendage for wounds. A minor burn wound, but nothing else. The object clattered onto the ground with a slight tinkle.

Jack held his hand close to his chest, glaring at the object, "Miko… what was that!?" he demanded.

She lifted up the object to reveal a small silver cross on a chain, "Little artifact my host parents had. Wanted to see if it worked like in the movies."

Jack glared at her and the cross, "You could have just asked instead of burning me." he growled, keeping a healthy distance from the girl.

Miko shrugged, "You're always so touchy about the subject, I thought you might throw a fit or something if I asked."

"So you thought throwing a silver cross at me to see if it burns would be a better idea!?" he demanded.

An idea occurred to Jack as the words left his mouth, as if two wires had connected in his brain.

"Miko, what do you know about that little cross?" he asked.

The girl looked at him confused, "Just that it's a made of silver, that's it."

"You're sure, just made of silver?"

"I think it might have been blessed, I'd need to ask." Miko said, looking at the cross.

"Miko, listen." Jack said, his face growing serious, "If it does need to be blessed, we need to get more of those, ok? This could be the only effective weapon I could have against Mariana, maybe the best way to… to kill her."

Realization dawned on her and Raf's face, "And we could make like a bullet or sword or something, something that'll _really _hurt that little-"

"Miko! Language!" Bulkhead yelled.

"Something that could hurt that _glitch_. "Miko amended, sending an apologetic look to the wrecker.

"But where would we get enough of that stuff?" Raf asked, "Isn't Silver really expensive? And if its blessed…"

Jack sat at the couch, hand on his head, "I didn't say it'd be easy. But then, going to Cybertron wasn't easy either. Nothing worth accomplishing, worth doing, is."

He looked up at Miko, "But please, Miko, I _need _you to find out. The sooner we get rid of Mariana… the better."

Miko looked at the little cross in her hands. If that tiny thing had burnt Jack, the idea of what a bullet made of the stuff could do to Mariana… The girl closed her hand over the cross.

"Alright Jack, I'll see what I can find out." she promised.

Jack smiled, a happy, non-threatening smile, "Thank you Miko."

"Eh don't mention it Jack." Miko said, sitting casually on the couch, "After all, I'm the one pulling your aft out of the fire this time." she said, grinning.

_Later, Darby Residence…_

The sun had set hours earlier, and the moon rose high into the air. It was a full moon tonight, and Jack looked out his window at it longingly. Every night, he wanted to go out, he felt more powerful, more at peace during the night. So much so that he stopped turning lights on in the house. He could see clear as day without them.

It did freak June out a little, since he walked around the house with ease, where most humans would stub their toes, Jack easily circumvented the areas. It was unnerving, to her and her son.

But tonight, he couldn't look at the moon or night sky as easily. The living room was under repairs, and his bedroom window only caught glimpses of its grey surface. The teen let out a sigh.

"Damn vampirism." he growled. Over the past few nights, he was finding that he needed less and less sleep. He only needed about three or four hours and he'd feel fully rested. That meant he spent most of his nights looking out at the night sky. He couldn't do much else, food and drink had no taste, and despite his instincts, he had no desire to hunt.

So his nights were spent, or wasted, doing nothing. Nothing but thinking anyway. Jack walked over to the window, feeling the cool night air brush against him. He was about to close the window, when he saw a pair of red glowing orbs seemingly materialize out of the darkness.

He had time to let out a yelp before Sierra clamped a pale hand over his mouth, "Shh!" she ordered, "Do you want to wake the neighborhood?"

Jack blinked once before shaking his head, "Good." Sierra said, and released his mouth.

"What are you doing here!?" he demanded in a hushed whisper.

"I came to get you." she responded innocently, looking away with a slight blush.

"To… get me?" he repeated, confused.

"Well to show you something actually, come on!" she waved in her direction. Jack looked around hesitantly.

She rolled her eyes, "No one will see us. Humans can't see that well in the dark, we're practically invisible to them at night."

"You're sure?" he asked, worried.

"I've been like this for months Jack." Sierra replied casually, "I'm sure."

Letting out a sigh, Jack hopped out of his window, listening carefully for any signs of humans. June was fast asleep, she'd fallen asleep over two hours earlier, and wouldn't be up for another five or six.

Sierra grinned, "Now come on, follow me." she ran towards his house and jumped, easily jumping the height of the house and landing on the roof. Had Jack himself not leapt over Optimus the other day, he might have been impressed.

Shrugging, the teen followed, leaping onto the roof and landing with ease. He was shocked to see the entire club was here tonight. Not just Sierra, but Vince, her friend, Mercer, Wendy, another girl with black hair called Cindy, and the boy whose name he couldn't remember at the moment.

Alex grinned, "Glad to see you could join us teach." he said.

"Teach?" Jack asked.

"Well yeah." Cindy said, "You taught us more about our 'abilities' in an hour or two then we could figure out in months. Teach fits."

Vince snorted, but most everyone ignored him, "So, not that I don't mind seeing you all again." Jack started.

"But why are you all standing on the roof of my house?"

"It's something we do every once and a while." Alex explained, "We all get together and go for a late night run, since sleep doesn't exactly work for us."

"A late night run?"

Vince snorted again, "You know, running? That thing we do that's faster than walking?"

Jack glared at him, "You know Vince, I'm honestly not that surprised you became a vampire. You were already heartless, guess that just finished what was started."

The bully was almost immediately on his feet, "You wanna go Darby!?" he demanded.

"You trying to be scary Vince? Because your failing pretty hard." Jack growled.

The bully let out a low hiss, baring his fangs. Sierra stepped between them, "Vince! Shut up and sit down _now_!" she ordered.

Vince crossed his arms and rested against the houses chimney, still glaring at Jack. Jack for his part, ignored the bullies glare.

"So…" he said, changing the subject, "How do these late night runs work?"

Alex grinned, "Watch and learn Teach. This is one thing _we _know better than you."

He turned around and backed up a bit, rubbing his hands together. The teen struck a runners position, facing the next house, his whole body tense like a spring about to snap. He suddenly shot forward at an incredible speed, shooting forward and kicking up a shingle or two from the house.

Alex reached the edge of the roof and leaped, soaring a good twenty or thirty feet before landing lightly on the neighboring house. Once he stood, Alex turned to the remaining teens and motioned for them to follow. Grinning, the club shot off after him, leaping through the air. Some even flipped or twisted in the air, Cindy leapt off the fence at the midway point. She rolled as she landed while the others landed feet first.

Jack watched all this unfold in seconds, and by the time they were all over there, his jaw was hanging. The group waved him over from across rooftops, and he realized he hadn't moved. Not one for being shown up, Jack readied himself.

He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together, and struck a pose similar to Alex's. he took off like a bullet, and leapt once he reached the roof. The wind ruffled his hair as he flew, and Jack quickly realized how far he was going. In fact, he overshot the house by a good100 feet or so, landing two houses past it.

With a roll and grunt, he landed with only minor damage to the houses tiling, and looked back at the vampires. They all looked at him shocked before running after him. It was obvious that they couldn't run or jump as far as him. But regardless, they were there within seconds.

"Wow…" the other boy, who looked to be a freshman, said, "I don't think I've ever seen _anyone _jump that far."

"Tim's right." Alex said, "Even I can't jump that far, and I'm the most agile."

Jack rubbed the back of his head, his face flushing, "Well it was sorta an accident. _I _didn't even know I could jump that far."

"You're just _full _of surprises, aren't you Darby?" Vince growled.

Jack glared at him angrily, his attitude starting to get on his nerves. This time though, Alex broke them up, "Hey hey, let's remember that we're all friends here." he said.

"Right right." Jack said, feeling his rage evaporate. For some reason, Vince just knew _exactly _how to get under his skin.

"So Teach." Wendy said hopping up and down, "Care to start off the run? Just around the neighborhood?"

"Why are you asking me?" Jack asked. He honestly wasn't sure why the vampires, _veteran _vampires, kept asking him, the new guy, for permission to do anything.

"Why not?" she replied.

Jack couldn't find a comeback to that, and shrugged, "Alright then."

He leapt off to the next house rolling forward before running again. He heard several distinct thumps as the others followed behind him. This time he made sure to go one house at a time, keeping his speed at a less… ridiculous, level.

As he ran Jack felt a certain ache in his chest, an ache he hadn't realized he'd had, fade away. Running over the roofs, to jump and be free under the night sky… this was a feeling he could get used to. It was a feeling of bliss and happiness, something he hadn't felt since being turned.

For hours the group moved like shadows over the rooftops, leaving but the barest signs they'd been there at all. No human had detected them, the few cars that drove by detecting nothing. Instead, the fledglings laughed and raced and enjoyed themselves. For a moment, they felt human.

As the night hours wasted away, the group finally found themselves situated in Jasper itself, resting on the tallest building, the high school. Despite how long and fast they'd run over the rooftops, they'd hardly broken a sweat. Now the group was relaxing, drinking in the night air.

Jack took a seat next to the freshman, "So… Tim, is it?" he asked.

The boy nodded, "How did you… become this?" he asked.

Tim looked down at the ground and drew his knee's close. Jack frowned, "Sorry, didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine Jack. I was just thinking is all." Tim interrupted, "It was about a month or two ago, I was spending the night alone. My folks were out celebrating their anniversery, and I was getting a chance to relax at home." the kid laughed.

"Relax, right. More like I was scared out of my wits. Mariana showed up almost as soon as they left. She messed with me for a while, knocking things over, turning lights on and off. Only when I tried calling the cops did she show up." Tim shuddered and Jack felt sympathy for the young vampire. Knowing the vampire, she'd probably had an ear splitting grin on when she had when she appeared. Poor kid.

"A-after that, she stalked me through my house, singing nursery rhymes. I tried to escape, but she would always appear at the exits… with a grin, oh god the grin!" the boy tightened his arms, "Eventually she cornered me in my room and offered me a choice… Either I become her fledgling, or me and my parents become vampire food."

He buried his head in his arms. Jack put a hand on the boys shoulder, "Hey, it's alright Tim. You did what you thought was best, and in a pretty tough situation too."

"Ha!" Vince laughed, "Little bitch makes it seem like this is a bad thing."

Jack looked up from Tim while the boy hung his head in shame, "Of course you of all people Vince would like being a blood sucking freak."

"Freak!? Darby are you retarded!?" Vince demanded.

"Look at us, we're stronger, faster, smarter than any human out there! How the hell does that make us freaks!?" he glared at Jack.

"Because what we are isn't natural Vince." Jack argued, "We shouldn't be this strong, shouldn't be this way. At least, shouldn't be forced into it. We might be stronger, faster, and smarter, but the cost is too high."

"Cost!?" Vince yelled, "Ha! Drinking from a bunch of… cattle!? That's too high a cost!?"

Several of the others looked at him with mixed expressions of shock and disgust. Jack just glared at Vince.

"You were never forced to be a vampire, were you Vince?" he growled.

The bully chuckled, "Hell no, I chose to be what I am. Now I can do whatever the hell I want with no consequences!"

By now most everyone was glaring at him. Sierra and her friend were oddly absent from the group. Jack stepped forward, his red eyes glowing with anger.

"What about normal food, or drink? We can't taste any of it, all we can drink is blood, that's it!"

"So? It tastes great!" Vince countered.

"If you can stomach were it comes from!" Jack yelled, getting close to the bully.

"Humans!? Whatever, you think I give a damn?" Vince asked.

"No, I'd say you don't." Jack snarled.

"Damn right I don't. Vampires are better than humans in every way. Whatever advantage they have isn't worth having."

There was a silence from the group as they digested what Vince had said. Finally, Tim stepped forward, "You sound like her… Like that bitch Mariana."

Vince shot forward, wrapping his hand around Tim's throat and lifting him in the air, "Oh yeah? Is that supposed to be an insult punk?"

Jacks hand wrapped around Vince's arm, "Let him go Vince." he warned.

The bully sneered at him, "Or what Darby? I'm the strongest one here, you wouldn't last ten seconds against me. None of you would."

Jack glanced over his shoulder at the others, who had backed away. Cindy looked terrified, Wendy looked nervous. Mercer glared at Vince, but seemed unwilling, or unable, to move.

The teen looked back at Vince, "Maybe, but then again, I stood up to Mariana. I think an ass like you is no problem."

Vince snarled and flung Tim away, Cindy catching the boy in her arms, "That's it!" the bully yelled and attacked.

Jack didn't have time to react to the first blow, and was sent flying into an air conditioning unit as Vince's fist connected with his face. The metal crumpled against Jacks form, and he felt several shards piercing him between the ribs. Jack shook his head and spat blood onto the floor, ducking down as Vince tried to punch him again.

He twisted around his opponent and ripped a piece of metal out of his side that had lodged itself there earlier. Jack brought it up in a twisting motion, slashing Vince's cheek. The bully stumbled back, blood dripping from his cheek. Putting a finger to the injury, Vince looked at his own blood, then glared at Jack.

"You're fucking dead Darby." he snarled.

"Bring it Vinny." Jack replied, motioning for him to attack.

Vince snarled, baring his fangs as he charged. Jack did the same and the two slammed into each other. Almost immediately it was obvious that Vince was the stronger opponent. The larger boy started shoving Jack back even though they were locked in place. His fangs glimmered in the moonlight as he smiled viciously.

"I've been waiting for this Darby." he growled. He suddenly moved his hands under Jacks arms and flipped him over head, slamming the teen into the concrete. The area cracked around his impact, and Jack fell flat on his back, stunned.

Vince grinned and raised his foot into the air. He slammed it back down and a sickening crunch echoed through the air as Jacks head was reduced to a bloody pulp. Everyone in the group looked shocked, utterly and completely shocked. They hadn't expected this, they never expected this.

The red headed teen reared his head back and howled with laughter, "That's it!? For months I've wanted to kill this little shit and this is the best fight he could put up!? HA!"

"You son of a bitch!" Tim yelled, he and Mercer charging the bully.

Vince punched Tim in the stomach, the freshman doubling over and coughing up blood. He wrapped his fingers around Alex's throat and slammed him into the ground.

"Now then." Vince said, picking up a shard of metal from the unit, "You mister Mercer, have been a _huge _pain in my ass. Just because you've been a vampire longer, you think that makes you better than me."

He ran the edge of the shard lightly across the vampires cheek, "Well I've got news punk. I'm the strongest one here, that makes _me _the best." he growled.

Alex glared at Vince as his cheek split open before his eyes widened and he smirked, "I don't think so Vince, look behind you."

"WHAT?" Vince whirled off the teen to a site he hadn't expected.

Jacks body had peeled itself off the floor… yet his head was still gone. Blood squirted from the stump of his neck and his body stumbled around trying to stay upright. Slowly, the blood in the surrounding area began running up the teens legs and bubbling around the stump, slowly forming a watery image over the stump.

Vince took a fearful step back, "What the hell!?"

A blood red eye split the image, glaring at Vince angrily. The blood began to reform and reshape itself into a more rounded shape. The black substance slowly grew more and more pale until Jacks head fully formed, hair, eyes, teeth, and all.

He shook his head once before baring his teeth in a frightening smile, "Now, where were we?" he asked, cracking his neck.

Vince's eyes were wide with fear and shock, "W-what the hell. H-how did you do that?"

Jack didn't respond immediately, instead charging forwards faster than even the vampiric eye could track. He delivered a series of fast jabs at Vince's head, the teen stumbling back from the blows. Vince gasped for breath as several cuts split along his face, bits of blood dripping down his pale skin.

Before he could even try and counterattack, Vince found himself on his back, Jack pinning him down and punching him repeatedly in the face, "Don't. Ever. Threaten. Them. Ever. Again!"

He delivered another punch, and blood dripped from Vince's eyes. Jack grabbed him by the collar and brought him to eye level, "You understand me you piece of crap!? Don't EVER threaten them, or so help me I will rip your throat out with my bare hands!"

Vince said nothing and Jack dropped him with a look of disgust, panting slightly. The bully was stunned, he'd just been beaten. Not just beaten, but practically destroyed, by Darby! His fist clenched, no one, especially that loser, got away with that!

Letting out a roar of anger, Vince attempted to deliver a right hook to Jacks face. What happened next shocked everyone. Jack slammed his fangs onto the bullies fist, causing blood, bone, and fleshy fingers to fly across the floor.

"GAH! SON OF A-" he never finished as Jack decked him in the face, knocking him unconscious.

The fledgling stood and spat Vince's finger onto his chest, "Piece of shit, good luck growing those back." he growled.

Jack looked at the remaining members of the group, his gaze softening, "Come on, let's go home." he said, leaving Vince's battered body on the ceiling.

Had it been anyone else, Jack might have felt guilt at leaving him there. That said, Vince had revealed his true motives and threatened friends of his. Leaving him on the roof was a courtesy.

Jack looked down at his hands in thought though. He knew he could recover from most any injury, but he'd moved fast there, faster than should have been possible. That left a question, what else… what else could he do?

He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know…

**A/N: You know I spoil you guys right? I'm still recovering from my surgery on Friday, and yet here I am, posting a new chapter a day ahead of schedule. Question now is, which story to update next? Let me know along with what you think of the chapter in the review. Make sure to PM me with questions or ideas too. Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Repercussions

_Unknown Location…_

A single figure flitted across the night sky, its shadow stretched unnaturally long by the moon as it lay high in the night sky. This figure though, moved from rooftop to rooftop, clutching his ruined hand tightly. It wasn't long before he jumped down into an alley, resting against the wall panting slightly.

Vince took a moment to catch his breath before looking down at the remains of his hands, his fingers nothing but bloody stumps thanks to that prick. He just didn't stay dead like he should have. If he had, Vince would have won.

But no, he didn't stay dead and now he was missing his fingers, blood dripping from where they once had been, "Son of a bitch." He cursed, shoving the limb under his arm, "Sierra's going to be pissed."

"Oh that's putting it lightly Vinnie." Sierra hissed, emerging from the shadows, a scowl on her face.

Vince took a few wary steps back, causing Sierra to scoff, "I'm not going to kill you Vince. Yet."

That didn't make Vince feel any better. The last vampire to screw up hadn't lived long. And Vince had screwed up pretty damn bad. He had practically announced his loyalty to Marianna. Not a good thing for his position.

"Do you have any idea what you just did you idiot!?" Sierra hissed. Her hands clenched open and closed furiously.

"Now look, Sierra, I know I messed up," Vince started, slowly backing away towards the exit, holding a hand out defensively.

"But come on, it's not like those idiots know what you're planning, right?" he yelped as he bumped into someone and turned around to see her blonde friend standing there, arms crossed and red eyes burning angrily. She never said much, and that scared the crap out of Vince.

"It doesn't matter if they did or didn't figure it out Vince," Sierra growled, she and the blond slowly cornering him against the wall.

"Girls, let's not to be too hasty here," he pleaded, "Everyone makes mistakes after all."

Sierra gripped him by the neck, slamming Vince against the wall, "But your mistake could have cost us _months_of hard work. Tell me Vince, how would _you_ punish someone for that?"

The red head gulped, his features twisting into an expression of fear and terror. Sierra was not a vampire for mercy. The last guy to cross her learned that the hard way.

Sierra raised a single finger to the teen's face, her nail lengthening into a long curved claw, "I'm waiting for an answer Vinnie." She told him.

Vince screamed in terror on the inside,_'Oh God, I'm going to die! She's going to kill me!'_

And he would have been right. But it seems karma was waiting a little longer before clearing the Earth of another monster. Because as Sierra brought the talon to his jugular, a seductive chuckle sounded from the shadows.

Sierra dropped the teen and whirled to the shadows. Mariana emerged from them, a large fanged grin on her face, "Oh my little fledglings, how fun it is to see you at each other throats." She chuckled.

The three dropped to their knees immediately, bowing to their lord and master, "Forgive me master," Sierra started, "I was merely punishing this idiot for almost ruining your plans."

Mariana chuckled, "Very good Sierra, but Vince did nothing to ruin our plans."

All three heads shot up, confused looks on their faces, "He didn't!?"

"No, he didn't." Mariana confirmed, "In fact, he was a big help."

The fledglings exchanged looks, before Sierra looked back at Mariana, "How?"

"Simple, by getting his ass utterly throttled, Vince helped confirm my suspicions."

Vince visible winced at that, still feeling sore about his loss. Mariana ignored it though, and continued to speak.

"Jack may have been reborn with the gift."

Sierra's eyes widened, "A-Are you sir sire? The last vampire b-born with the gift-"

"You will not mention that being, understood!?" Mariana hissed, her red eyes glowing angrily.

The three fledglings winced. Talking about _him_ one of the few vampires born with all three gifts was something Mariana hated. She had not been born with the gifts, and had achieved her powers through the feeding off of those who did. But this vampire, he had nearly beaten her. So of course, even mentioning his name was enough to make her blood boil.

Mariana let out an exasperated sigh and straightened her red blouse, "Sorry, it's just talking about him makes me a little _absolutely livid._" She brushed a few strands of hair back, "Whew, okay. Yes Sierra, I am sure that Jack was reborn with the gift. He has the regeneration and the strength and speed."

Her scowl deepened, "All we need to see now is his strength in shadow magic to confirm it."

Sierra looked at her fellow fledglings and then at their master, "What would you have us do, master?"

Mariana pointed at Vince, "He needs to disappear. He can't appear at public school any longer. I'll make sure the principal knows. The rest of you, watch Jack closely, turn him to our side, and watch for his shadow magic. We've yet to see him use it, but it could come any day now if my hunch is right."

"And if it is?"

A deep grin returned to Mariana's face, "Then put the failsafe into action. Am I understood?"

"We understand master." The three said in unison, bowing their heads.

"Good." She nodded and turned to leave before smirking, "Oh and Vince?"

The redheaded vampire looked up nervously, 'Ye-yes master?"

She tossed something at him, "I believe these are yours."

The vampire looked at the objects in his hand, feeling a wave of embarrassment color his pale skin red. Mariana had tossed his disembodied fingers to him, "Y-yes, they are master."

Mariana smirked, "Then I suggest you reattach them. I can't have a one handed vampire running around, now can I?"

"N-no, of course not master." Vince shook his head hurriedly.

"Good, now go my fledglings." Mariana ordered, "You have much work to do."

With a single bow, the three vampires leapt atop the building and ran off into the night, leaving the vampire queen to look up at the night sky, a frown creasing her face.

"Almost a century and a half later, and you still haunt me Count, don't you? Your blood may be my own, but you still resurface, and this time the boy is the one with your powers."

Her hands tightened until blood dripped from the palms of her hands, "No matter though, because no matter how hard you try, I will always win. Count Dracula."

_Autobot HQ…_

"And you're sure you can't eat any normal food?" Miko asked. She was lying on the couch, facing up at the ceiling.

Jack sighed and rubbed his temples, "Miko, if there was something I could eat instead of blood, don't you think I would be eating that?" he deadpanned, shooting a glare her way.

She sat up and shrugged, "I dunno, would you? I mean isn't there something in that book of yours that might be a substitute?"

His eye twitched, "One, I looked through that book at least three times for _anything_that might be a substitute. Two, I'm pretty sure it was written by _her._So if there is a substitute out there, it won't be in the book."

Miko quirked her lips, "But come on, there has to be _something_ that you could do instead of drinking blood."

"I've been like this for over a month now. I've yet to find anything." Jack moaned, putting both hands on his head.

He really had looked for substitutes as the time passed after the bots found out. Any food that might have acted as a substitute, steaks, pork chops, and even lamb had done nothing, even if they were practically raw. It was really starting to get on his nerves, and the supply of blood Fowler had brought in to keep Jack sated was starting to run low.

The hunger that dominated him had slowly waned as time passed. Jack was starting to go longer and longer without needing to feed. At first it was a few hours at most, but now he could go a full day without even a pang of hunger. It wasn't perfect, as when the hunger did come it hit like a freight train. But still, it was able to extend his supply of blood for a few more days.

And while Jack had dealt with that, the bots had dealt with the return of Wheeljack and the addition of a new con to the Decepticon ranks. A blue and yellow seeker by the name of Dreadwing, who Wheeljack had been hunting across the stars as payback for the death of a fellow Wrecker. That had caused a whole host of problems when Wheeljack went off with Bulkhead to take him down, nearly costing them both their lives.

Had it not been for Optimus' interference, both Wheeljack and Bulkhead could very well be dead. In the end though, the Decepticon had been sent running back to the Nemesis and Wheeljack had gone off into the world to explore it.

Since then, the time at base had been pretty peaceful to Jacks utter relief. No surprise visits from Mariana, no sign of Vince at school, and his time with Sierra's 'club' had started to dominate his life when he wasn't with the bots. With his help, the group had slowly begun to discover their hidden gifts.

Wendy was a regenerator like him. She'd cut herself pretty bad with a knife and healing from the injury in record time. Cindy had strength and speed, able to keep pace with Jack with ease. Tim had shown himself to be in the same boat as Cindy to a lesser degree. That only left Alex, Sierra and her friend claiming to have discovered their gifts before the club was founded.

Those two had appeared at the club less and less lately, but Jack didn't think much of it. They were probably preoccupied with something at home. Being that they were vampires, that wouldn't surprise him.

Miko slumped in her chair, "So nothing but blood?"

Jack nodded, "Nothing but blood. Human blood."

As much as he hated it, that was the best choice. Other animals only delayed it, they didn't _truly_satiate him. It was more like an unhealthy snack. He felt okay at first, but eventually would regret it later on.

Miko frowned, "Well… what about sleep?"

That got him to raise a brow, "What about it?"

"Well at school, you seem half asleep most the time. Did you stop sleeping or something?"

Jack paused at this and noted that Raf had looked up from his laptop, and though he wasn't showing it, Ratchet was peaking up from his terminal. Sleep was a vital part of human health. To skip it was very unhealthy for humans and could have very adverse side effects.

Thing was, Jack was far from human anymore. He was a night predator now. A vampire, a creature of the night. And sleeping at night went against his vampiric instincts to sleep at night. How was he going to explain that to them though?

The young vampire rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Well….not entirely."

"Not entirely?" Miko asked, confused.

Jack sighed, "I don't sleep at night anymore. It's like falling asleep in the middle of the day for me."

"So when do you sleep?" Raf asked, peeking up from his laptop.

"Early morning and evening." Jack replied, "It's the only time I _can_fall asleep, besides the middle of the day."

Ratchet looked up from his terminal at Jack, "Then you should be asleep right now." The medic ordered.

"What? No, I'm fine Ratchet!" Jack protested. He didn't want to miss out on spending time with his friends, not for something as trivial as sleep.

"Sleep deprivation is a dangerous thing Jack and vampire or not, you still need your sleep." Ratchet countered, his typing stopped.

"It's not that bad Ratchet." Jack lied. He had nearly fallen asleep on a few occasions at school, but no one needed to know that. Yet.

"What's not that bad?" Arcee walked into the main hall of the base.

'_Scrap."_ Jack cursed. If she hadn't shown up, he might have convinced the others that he didn't need the sleep. But with Arcee here, he was completely boned.

"Nothing Arcee." He said quickly.

"I'm trying to convince Jack to head home and sleep." Ratchet ignored Jacks glare, "Being nocturnal now it would be best if after school he returned home and rested. Sleep deprivation can be bad for humans, and the same goes for vampires."

Arcee frowned and looked at her partner, "Why didn't you say anything before?" she asked, her features pure concern.

Jack sighed, "It's not a big deal guys. I get plenty of sleep." In total contrast to that, he proceeded to yawn, despite his mind screaming not to.

"Uh huh, right." Miko smirked.

Jack glared at her while Arcee looked at Ratchet, "Open a bridge to Jacks house." She ordered.

"Arcee!" Jack yelled.

She looked back to him, "You need sleep Jack. You almost fell off while riding today."

"I told you I was just lost in thought." He mumbled sheepishly.

The bridge swirled to life behind the femme, and she pointed at it, "Sleep. Now." She ordered.

"But-"

"Now."

Jack let out a frustrated growl, gritting his fangs in frustration. There was no winning a fight with her, not when she was worried about him like that.

He flung his hands in the air, "Fine, fine. I'm going."

With a swift movement, he vaulted over the railing and rolled forward across the floor. The first few times he did that he'd nearly given everyone a heart attack. Now it was a standard thing for him to do, and everyone had grown use to it like they had his vampiric appearance.

"Hold on Jack." Ratchet said suddenly.

Jack craned his neck back, looking up at the medic, "Something _else_the matter Ratchet?" he demanded.

The medic turned around holding an odd cylindrical device in his hands, "I've been meaning to ask for a blood sample for a long while. It should only take a moment and will let me analyze the vampire genome."

That caused him to pause. The genome was the genetic building blocks of every species. It was what defined each and every species out there. And if Ratchet could analyze and isolate the vampire genes…

"Do you… do you think you might be able to make a cure?" Jack asked. It was a long shot, a very long shot that such a thing was possible. But if it could make it so he was no longer a vampire, so those in the club were no longer vampires… he'd take it.

"That's unlikely Jack, but not impossible." Ratchet said, "But at the very least I can understand some of the abilities you've demonstrated. Particularly your regeneration."

Jack didn't even hesitate, instead he rolled his sleeve up, exposing his pale arm, "Go ahead, do it." He motioned, "If there's even a chance of finding a weakness we can use against Mariana or curing me, go ahead."

Nodding, Ratchet applied pressure to the cylinder, causing a small needle to eject from the edge. He knelt down and with great tenderness, not wanting to hurt Jack despite his abilities, placed the needle in his arm. The teen felt a slight pinching sensation and watched as a small vial at the end of the needle filled with dark red blood.

Something Jack noticed was that his blood was darker than a human's by several levels. He wasn't sure why, but his mom theorized it was why vampires fed on human blood. Their abilities caused their blood to rapidly deteriorate, and so they drank blood to 'absorb' the needed amount to replace their degenerated cells.

Once the vial was full, Ratchet pulled the needle out, and the small injury immediately healed. Ratchet nodded his thanks, "This will be good. Thank you Jack."

"Let me know what you find Ratch." The teen ordered. If Ratchet found anything, he wanted to be the first to know.

"Go and get some sleep and I will do just that." The medic replied, focusing on his terminal.

Jack sighed, "Yes sir." He said, and performed a mock salute.

Ratchet ignored him and Jack waved goodbye to Arcee before passing through the bridge into his houses garage. He made his way to his bed and slipped under the covers. He didn't expect to fall asleep at all; he was too wound up he thought.

That said, he fell asleep within seconds, his mind drifting into the foggy dimension of sleep…

_Later…_

Jack woke with a jerk, hearing a knocking sound on his window. He sat up bleary eyed to see that it was night, the moon rising high into the air. That, and he felt better than he'd felt in weeks. Maybe Ratchet was on the right track with this whole 'sleep after school' thing.

There was another knock and Jack looked to see the entire club of vampires standing in front of the window, minus Vince who was banned. Not that it mattered; the jerk had vanished after Jack bit his fingers off. Jack raised a brow at the group of six. Mercer motioned for him to open the window.

Jack shrugged and got out of bed, wearing the same clothes. He hadn't bothered to change his clothes, he didn't see the point if he was going to wake up later anyway. Walking over, he opened the window and poked his head out.

"Hey guys, what's up?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"We found a new hang out." Tim said, bouncing on his heels.

Jack raised a brow. A new hangout? After his little fight with Vince, he and the others decided a new hang out would be best. They'd attracted a lot attention given that they'd trashed the roof of the school. For the past few weeks they'd looked from place to place for a new hangout, but nothing really worked for them.

"Really? Where?"

"Follow us, we'll show you." Wendy said, motioning for him to follow.

Jack blinked, "Uh, okay, just give me a moment, okay? I need to make sure my mom's not home."

The others nodded. The club was still a secret, even to those who knew about their vampirism. They'd agreed that it was a private condition, and that it was up to each individual member to reveal what they are _if_they wanted.

Ducking back in, Jack quietly snuck out of his room into the hallway. He sniffed the air, and caught his mothers scent, fresh. He followed it down the hall to his mom's room, and stopped with a hand on the doorknob. The door opened with a small squeak, letting Jack see his mother fast asleep in her bed, a peaceful expression on her face.

Her room was a simple room, a basic gray blue, with few decorations and a large bed in the center of the room. A nightstand with his father's picture on it rested there. His death still hurt June to this day. She had loved that man, and the tragedy behind his death only added to the pain of losing him. After he died, Jack had taken up the position as the man of the house and remained strong for his mom. It just came natural to him, the need to protect others. Even his instincts as a vampire couldn't override that urge.

Confident that his mother was asleep, Jack quietly shut the door before creeping back to his room, seeing the others still waiting outside the window.

"Alright, I'm clear." He whispered, climbing out of the window.

"So where is this place?"

Mercer jerked a thumb at Cindy, "Ask her, she found it."

Everyone looked to the black haired vampire, "It's on the edge of town. Big warehouse, come on I'll show ya."

Without another word, the girl jumped atop Jacks house, the others quickly following suite. The seven vampires shot through the night, just barely visible as flying shadows. They leapt from house to house, jumping, twisting, and rolling as they slowly made their way to the outskirts of Jasper.

It wasn't long before the houses started to become sparser and the desert more common. Eventually, the seven hit the dirt, coming to a slow stop in front of a large warehouse. It was about three stories tall and several houses wide with large framed windows lining the upper edge of the building. A metal door sealed the front shut, its age showing via the massive amounts of dents and rust.

Jack eyed the structure suspiciously. It looked… off, like there was more to it than what he was seeing. And that set off alarm bells in his head. He stopped while the others walked forward, causing them to look at him confused.

"Cindy, you sure this place is good?" he asked, eyeing the structure.

She cocked her head to the side, "Yeah, it used to store supplies when Jasper was under heavy construction. Why?"

He frowned, "Call it a hunch, but something seems off about it. Like we shouldn't be here."

The confused looks didn't go away, "What, you guys don't feel it?" he asked, motioning to the building.

They shook their heads, "No, not really." Mercer said, before smiling, "But if there is something there that tries to hurt us, it'll be sorely mistaken."

Jack raised a brow and Mercer did something he didn't expect. The area around his hands darkened considerably, as if shadows were being cast on them. The hands vanished, covered in a shadowy matter where five long serrated digits replaced the original five fingers he had. The rest of his arms were covered in a thick black and red substance that writhed and squirmed like a living mass.

Mercer raised a clawed hand, "Shadow magic, that's my gift. I'm adept at it, can morph shadows into weapons, watch."

And quick as a flash, he leapt at the rusted door way, claws spread wide. There was a shriek of metal and Mercers claws left diagonal slash marks crossing in a large X in the center of the door. He then tapped the door and watched it clatter to the floor in pieces.

Tim summed up everyone's reaction in two words, "Holy shit."

"Nothing holy about it Timmy." Sierra said, "That's shadow magic at its finest. Guess you just need to learn to refine it."

Mercer's claws vanished, "Guess so." he looked into the warehouse, "Come on, let's check this place out."

The others followed eagerly, Jack trailing behind them. He stopped at the doorway, looking at the torn metal, then into the warehouse. He supposed if there was something wrong with this place, seven vampires would be enough to deal with it.

He hoped.

Stepping inside, Jack saw the structure was much larger on the inside than it was on the outside. The ceiling seemed to tower overhead, and several large pillars held the roof of the building up. Moonlight streamed in from the large windows, though it was far from necessary. Seeing in the dark was a standard vampire trait.

"Holy crap Cindy!" Tim said, looking around in wonder, "How did you know about this place."

The girl shrugged, "My dad's a real estate broker. This was one of his jobs a while back, and I just remembered it recently."

That got Jacks attention, "Who did he sell it too?"

"I don't know," Cindy admitted, "Some industrial group or something. Does it matter? The place is abandoned, hasn't been used in years."

By now Jack was practically freaking out. Something told him this place was bad. Beyond bad, that if they stayed here, someone was going to get hurt. And not surprisingly, he was right.

Gunshots sounded and the fledglings whirled around to face them. Jack felt his blood run cold. Standing at the entrance, was a total of thirty armed guards. And they were dressed in MECH attire, their guns smoking.

"Guys," he started backing away from the entrance, "We need to go, _now!" _

The guards lowered their weapons, "Oh you aren't going anywhere brats." the lead guard said. Jack knew that he and Wendy could survive the bullets with ease. But the others might not be able to survive being shot. They needed to get out of there, and fast.

The commander stalked forward with the MECH goons, circling the kids. They held their rifles at the ready, fingers resting lightly on the trigger.

"Alright, how'd you find this place, and why are you here?" the leader demanded.

None of the kids answered, and the commander fired a round into the floor, causing some of them to flinch, "Answer the damn question, or I start popping heads!"

Jack felt a rage building in his chest at that. These men, these terrorist were threatening his friends. They were going to shoot them dead, or try. That was something he could not allow. And apparently, Mercer thought the same things.

The two exchanged looks and nodded. It was time to show these humans what they were messing with.

"I'll ask one more time!" the leader yelled, "Why are you-"

He never finished, as a inky black whip had slashed clean through his head, causing it to fall to the floor, blood spraying across the floor. Mercer brought the whip back and created a pair of giant shadowy shields to protect the others from the bullet fire that followed his attack.

Jack meanwhile, began his own assault on the men. He moved quick as a flash from each man, a single swipe of his hand enough to snap their bones and leave them crippled on the floor. the men scattered, getting away from the furious vampire and the growing pool of blood, and opened fire on him.

Bullets ripped into Jacks clothes and flesh, ripping away skin, muscle, and bone. Entire chunks of his body were shredded by the sheer firepower, and as if to add to the chaos of the firepower, a grenade was thrown at his feet.

The fledgling had no time to react, and the grenade detonated, consuming Jack in a ball of fire.

Mercer lowered his shields, "No…"

The others looked at the ball of fire in shock and horror. Even a regenerator couldn't survive their body being incinerated. It was too much damage for them to handle. Jack was dead.

Tim clenched his hands, snarling furiously and his eyes glowing bright red, "YOU BASTARDS!" he screamed, and charged forward.

"Tim, no!" Cindy reached for his arm, but missed, the young boy charging towards the nearest set of guards. He didn't get far before taking a series of bullets to the chest, knocking him to the floor, blood dripping from the wounds. He wasn't dead, but he was injured, bad.

One of the guards let out a shaky breath, before pointing his rifle at the group again. Mercer quickly raised the shadow shields, letting the bullets ping off them harmlessly.

"Sir, what do we do?" one of the remaining soldiers asked, looking at the vampires, and their dead comrades.

The MECH goon held his rifle at the shield, "Capture them, Silas will want to study them. Just be careful to-"

"No…." a voice rasped, cutting him off.

The men froze and turned to the blaze where the grenade had gone off, some of them trembling.

"No…" the voice repeated.

All the soldiers backed away, and Mercer lowered his shields, the vampires looking at the blaze with shock. A shadowy figure stood in the blaze, his red piercing eyes staring out at the men. Slowly, he walked out, and to their shock, it was Jack. But he looked different.

His face, build, and hair were the same. It was his clothes that were different. Instead of a grey blue over shirt and white undershirt with jeans and sneakers, he was clad in what appeared to be a seamless suit of flickering black fire. It seemed unable to decide on a form, and kept shifting and flowing, like the flames he had emerged from.

Jack raised a shadow engulfed finger, pointing it at the MECH soldiers, "You will not harm them." he hissed.

The room darkened considerably, the windows blocked off from thick shadows. The light became nonexistent, too dark even for the soldiers night vision goggles to help them. But the vampires, they were able to see what happened.

Jack straightened his fist, and tendrils of shadow whipped out, streaking towards each remaining soldier. They barely had time to scream before the shadows tore into them, ripping them apart, their bodies falling to the floor in bloody pieces.

Eventually, only a single soldier remained, cowering in front of Jack. His blood red eyes stared into his very soul, and the teen stood unmoving in front of him.

"Your comrades died like dogs." he growled, "But how will you die? A soldier, a dog, or like a man?"

The MECH goon let out a whimper before pulling a pistol on the teen, "GO TO HELL!" he screamed before opening fire.

Each bullet found its mark on Jacks chest, but he merely stood there, unaffected by it. He smirked, revealing his fangs "Like a man it is."

Shadowy limbs burst from the ground and grabbed the man, before pulling him down screaming into the floor. And as quickly as it began, it was over. The shadows receded away from the walls and windows back to Jack, revealing the bloody mess that was the MECH troops.

The teen stood there, and shook his head like he was waking up from a bad dream. The shadows around his body settled into a black and red approximation of his old clothes. His over shirt was red, the undershirt black, and his pants and sneakers were black too.

He blinked a few times before looking around at the dead bodies in shock, "D-did I… did I do that?" he asked, horrified.

Stumbling back, Jack put a hand to his head while the others approached him, "Hey, you alright?" Tim asked, holding his chest to keep the blood from seeping out.

Jack blinked, looking at the freshman, "Am I okay? We should be asking you that."

Tim shrugged off his concern, "Give me a day, I'll be fine."

"Right," Jack said nodding. Then the kids proceeded to bombard him with questions on how he did that, what it was like, and if he could teach them. Well, all but Sierra and her friend, who sulked off out of the warehouse.

Cindy scowled at this, why was Sierra leaving after they'd nearly been killed? Shrugging, the girl followed after them, just to see what they were up to. As she rounded the corner outside the warehouse though, she heard Sierra talking to someone. She stopped at the corner and pressed herself against the wall, listening closely.

"…Master, I have urgent news. Jack just displayed mastery of shadow manipulation. Yes, that's right, I just saw him slaughter over a dozen armed men with shadows!" Sierra was silent for a moment.

"I understand master, it shall be done Mariana."

Cindy held back a yell of surprise, clamping a hand over her mouth. Sierra was working for Mariana!? If that was the case… oh god, she had to warn the others!

She let her arm drop and turned to run back to the group, only for a hand to clamp around her throat. Cindy let out a gasp of pain, staring at the eyes of Sierra's friend. Sierra herself rounded the corner chuckling.

"Oh Jenifer, looks like you caught a rat." she grinned, "And tell me, what do we do with rats?" Sierra asked.

Jenifer grinned exposing her fangs, "We invite them to dinner."

Cindy couldn't even scream as Jenifer and Sierra proceeded to devour her whole…

**A/N: Talk about a rough ending. So yeah, I was working on this chapter in the car too. I was working on Heart of Fire, but then remembered how many people loved this story and thought, hey, why not? So, what did you guys think of this chapter huh? How about that end? Good, bad, meh? Let me know in the review, and ask me questions via PM or suggest ideas. Bye!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Alliances in the Shadows.

_Outskirts of Jasper…_

"Okay man, how did you do that?" Mercer demanded, arms crossed.

Jack rubbed his head nervously, "I really don't know guys. It just sorta… happened. I don't even remember _what _I did. Just an explosion, flames and then… that."

He pointed at the dozens of dead bodies that littered a section of the warehouse. His shadow magic had let him slaughter them without hesitation, taking no damage himself while the men were torn to bloody pieces. And yet, he remembered none of it. Jack could question _how _he did it, but the more important question to him, was how to do it again?

If he could find a way to use his powers again, against Mariana, he could add another list of weapons to his arsenal against her. Blessed Silver and Shadow magic, both would be useful. Now he just needed to know how to control the latter.

"Okay, better question," Wendy said, getting everyone's attention, "What's with the getup?"

Jack cocked his head to the side, "What getup?"

The brunette motioned to his whole body, "This getup." she said.

Jack looked down and his eyes went wide, "What the!?"

He took a fistful of his new shirt, noting that it felt smoother than his old clothes, like silk almost, "Where did I get these?" he wondered aloud.

"That's what we were wondering." Wendy replied.

Tim and Mercer gave her a look and she sighed, "Okay, that's what _I _was wondering. Better?"

The two smiled while Jack frowned, "I don't know, I sure wasn't wearing it when those goons were shooting me."

"Well it's shadow magic, right?" Tim asked a thoughtful expression on his face, "What if… what if those are made of shadows? I mean you only went through the costume change _after _you… took care of these guys."

Jack looked at his sleeve with obvious curiosity. He gripped the edge of the sleeve, noting its silky touch. He pulled tightly on it, and his eyes widened. The sleeve came apart like wisps of flame when he pulled hard enough. Then they knit themselves back together, and there was no sign of the damage he'd done.

The others went wide eye at this, "How is that fair?" Mercer demanded, crossing his arms, "I make claws out of shadows, but he can summon the gates of hell _and _make his own clothes. Two in one!"

Jack winced, "Can you _please _not talk about that? It's bad enough we have to stand next to them, I don't need to be reminded about what I did."

"Right, sorry." Mercer apologized.

"Actually, can we get out of here?" Wendy said, "The smells really weird."

She was right the smell, while alluring, was starting to get less so. The group quickly made their way outside were they ran into Sierra and her friend.

"Oh Sierra, there you are." Wendy said, "I was wondering where you and Jen went off too."

"Just getting some air." she replied with an innocent smile, "Cindy told us that she decided to head home. Too much excitement in one night."

At that moment Jack yawned, "You know, I kinda think she had the right idea. I'm exhausted. I think I'll head home early tonight, if that's alright with you guys."

The others shrugged, "No problem Jack, we'll see ya tomorrow." Mercer said.

Jack waved goodbye and made the run back to his house, his thoughts racing while he ran across the rooftops. One of said thoughts was his control over shadow magic. How did he do that? Why could he do that? He already had incredible speed and strength, which along with his regenerative abilities…

He nearly face planted the moment his mind made the connection. Instead he rolled across a roof and leapt up, skidding across the next houses roof and coming to a stop at the chimney. He felt a stinging sensation in his leg and brought it up, seeing his pant leg slightly torn along with his flesh. Both knit themselves back together, and it was as if he'd never been hurt at all.

"Oh my god," he murmured, barely believing the conclusion he came too. He'd read about it in the book. Only a single other vampire had been born with this ability, and he was dead.

Jack was the second one, and he too was reborn with the ability. Or rather, abilities. He had regeneration, strength and speed, and now… Shadow Magic. The amount of power he was granted from this…

The teenage vampire got to his feet and looked three houses down to his house. He was a shadow, practically flying over houses towards his own house. A new advantage against Mariana, a huge advantage against her. And he hadn't even realized it!

Jack let out a giddy laugh, printing along the point where the roof came together on a house before rolling forward and pushing himself up with his hands, launching himself at his house. Without missing a beat, he flipped forward off the roof of his house, landed on the grassy lawn next to his room, and spring boarded through his window, landing on his bed with a single bounce.

Crossing his arms behind his head, Jack let out a sigh. A lot was changing now, more than he ever thought possible a few weeks ago. Yet here he was a vampire reborn with all three natural gifts. And a new outfit to boot.

Jack looked down at his new outfit, the red shirt, black pants, black sneakers, and black undershirt, and then looked at the broken mirror. He'd never bothered to get it repaired, since most of the time his reflection never showed up anyway.

But, right now, he actually had a use for it. He stood up, his bed creaking lightly, and looked at the mirror, messing with his mortal mask a little just so he would appear. Slowly his reflection faded into view, his ears being the only change. Instead of being pointed, they were rounded. The rest of his face though, looked very much like a vampires.

He examined his new attire more thoroughly, twisting around and looking at it from all angles. "Hmm, not bad," he muttered approvingly.

A thought came to his mind, "But if these are made of shadows…"

He thought for a moment, focusing on a new outfit. Slowly, the red shirt he wore darkened until it looked like it was made of black fire. The shadows lengthened around his arms and covered his hands, while it split down the middle. Then, color returned to the shadow, and instead of a blood red over shirt, Jack wore a blood red coat.

If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't sure where the idea for it came from, but he quite liked it. It seemed to be made of a thick cloth or cotton like material, with a line of buttons running up the left side. A collar that he could pop up or leave in place curled around his neck.

Jack smiled, "Not bad, not bad at all Darby." he praised himself. His eyes flicked over to the window, or more specifically, the graying sky. Cursing, Jack went over to his window and slammed it shut before pulling the curtains tight.

"I need sleep," he yawned, and looked down at his clothes. With but a thought, they morphed into a red sleeping shirt and loose black cloth pants. Jack could only imagine the uses that would have. But for now, sleep came first.

Sliding into bed, Jack shut his eyes. It was a Saturday now. That meant for the next eight hours, he could sleep through the day uninterrupted…

_Elsewhere…_

"Damn it!" Silas roared, waving the report away, "You mean to tell me we lost thirty men at our warehouse location!? HOW!?"

The MECH soldier backed away nervously from Silas. The man had moved the organization to one of their many bases. It was located deep underground, powered by a nearby hydroelectric dam. The lights that rested in the ceiling were dimly lit to conserve power for more constructive use, meaning that Silas and the soldier both saw in dim darkness. They currently stood on a raised platform in the center of a large CIC. Computer terminals were set in rows in the large base, a MECH technician working diligently at each of them. A single entrance and exit resting directly across from them were two guards stood at the ready. On the other end of the room, a large screen dominated the wall, showing the condition of MECH and its backers.

And right now, those backers were close to withdrawing. The casualties they were suffering were high and unnatural in their development. MECH had promised few casualties and few damages. They were lacking in both.

The soldier gulped nervously, thankful for his full body armor and mask, "W-well sir, w-we only received a brief video transmission be-before we lost all contact."

"Well what are you waiting for?" Silas demanded, his temper cooling.

"Put it on screen." he ordered, and sat in the command chair in the center of the platform. He pulled a data-pad that would allow him to modify the footage how he saw fit.

The world map vanished and was replaced with a video showing a man's rifle shaking in a dark warehouse. The MECH FOB for operating in Jasper Nevada. They had figured the Autobots were near the town after their attempts to capture June and Jack Darby, both times ending in failure. But they were nearing the Autobot base, and once they did, they would begin their plans.

Shaking his head of possible schemes to take over the world, Silas paid attention to the video screen. The man's rifle rather frantically twitched from side to side, the camera catching glimpses of his comrades, as a blur of some kind seemed to cut them down.

_"Shit shit shit!" _the man screamed, backing up and firing at the incoming blur.

_"SHI-!"_

The rifle fell from his hands and landed next to his body. There was a sickening squelch and the upper half of his body hit the ground. Blood sprayed the camera lenses and his lower half hit the ground with a thud.

The CIC was silent as the video came to an end, "That's it?" Silas demanded, "That's the only footage we got back!?"

The soldier cringed, backing away from his superior, "I'm s-sorry sir, it's all we could get!"

"Whatever killed our men, it was moving too fast! We can't learn anything from that!" Silas clenched his hands angrily, the pad in his hands cracking. It was bad enough they lost _thirty _men, but now they couldn't even figure out who had killed them in the first place.

He was about to order the soldier away, when a low laugh echoed through the compound. It was a seductive feminine laugh, and all the men stood up, their heads swiveling to locate the sourced of the laugh. Silas pulled a gun from his holster and narrowed his eyes.

"Whose there!?" he demanded, activating the tactical flashlight on his weapon. The natural lights in the compound cast long shadows everywhere, plenty of places for a potential spy or assassin.

The laugh died down, "Really? You're going to threaten me with that peashooter?" the voice demanded.

"Come out now and surrender, and we might let you live." Silas growled. He didn't like when people tried to toy with him.

The voice laughed again, "Fine, I wanted to meet you face to face anyway."

A single figure stepped out of the shadows. A woman, Silas had to guess in her early twenties, wearing a blood red blouse, black slacks, a black vest, and black combat boots. Her pitch black hair fell down her back, and her skin was pale as snow. But the one feature that truly caught Silas, were her eyes. They looked like pools of blood, pools that were draining into a bottomless abyss. He had seen eyes like that before. On the Darby kid.

"Come no closer," Silas ordered, several of his men surrounding her.

The women looked at them, and their rifles, bored, "Look Silas, if I was here to kill you, this entire room would be a bloodbath," she licked her lips, "So tell your tin soldiers to back off before I _make _them back off."

Silas made eye contact with the women saw the look in her red eyes. It was a merciless look; there was no remorse in those eyes, no mercy, and no pity. They were the eyes of an animal, ready to tear open its next meal.

"Stand down." Silas ordered, holstering his pistol.

The men exchanged looks before lowering their rifles. They spread out, letting the woman through while keeping a firm eye on her too. She ignored them and strode forward, her boots echoing against the floor.

"So you're Silas?" She mused, her eyes traveling up and down his body, "I must say, I'm not impressed."

The terrorist leader narrowed his eyes, who was this woman to break into his base and insult him like this! He was one of the most renowned and feared terrorist leaders out there, his men outfitted with the best tech available.

Still glaring at her, Silas growled out, "And just who are you to judge me?" he demanded.

A gleam of mischief shone in the woman's eyes, "You, Silas, can call me Mariana." she bowed rather dramatically, "And I can tell you _exactly _who and what killed your men."

Silas scowled, fingering his pistol. He could still shoot this broad that was still an option. Until, that is, he saw the look in her eyes change. It was a warning look. If he made one wrong move, said one wrong thing… Silas had a feeling no one would leave this room alive.

His hand dropped from his pistol, and Mariana smiled, prompting a glare from Silas in return, "Very well, Mariana, you have my attention."

"Oh goody," she said mockingly, "Do I now? Good."

She strode around Silas, the man and his underlings watching her warily, "What you need to understand Silas, is that what killed your men there," she pointed at the screen, "is the same person that slaughtered your men when the Autobots stormed your base not too long ago."

"How did you-"

A raised hand from Mariana stopped him, "I have my ways. My point is, the person who killed your men, you know very well. A Mr. Jackson Robert Darby."

The shocked look on the man's face, followed by a narrowing of the eyes was all the confirmation Mariana needed to continued, "You see, Jack isn't a human. At least not anymore," she chuckled to herself.

"If he's not a human, then what is he?" Silas demanded, crossing his arms.

Mariana let out a laugh, "That is none of your concern," she growled.

Silas glared at her, "Then why are you here?"

She tapped a finger to her chin, "Let see, because you and I both want him dead." she replied, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"But you lack the proper equipment or men to deal with him." she added.

Silas' glare softened, "But you do?"

"Oh honey," Mariana snapped her fingers, "You know it!"

Three shadowy figures seemed to materialize. All three wore all black attire, hoods and bandanas covering their faces. All any of the members of MECH could see were two glowing red orbs floating in the center of where their faces would be.

"You have the organization and resources needed to kill him." Mariana said simply, "I'll provide the knowhow and men who can pull it off."

Silas regarded Mariana with suspicion, "And why should we listen to you? What does MECH gain from this?"

"Well for one, Darby is dead, so your men won't keep getting killed." Mariana pointed out, though this only made Silas angrier, "And, if you are able to coordinate an assault that kills him, I will combine my resources with yours."

She trailed a finger along his shoulders, "Think about it Silas, kill this one boy, this one measly boy, and you can have my men, my power, at your disposal. MECH's goal will be that much more within reach."

The head of MECH looked from Mariana, to the three shadowy figures, to the large screen where the dead man still lay on the video. He then looked back to Mariana and extended his hand, "You have a deal, we'll get to work immediately."

_Darby Residence…_

Jacks eyes slowly opened, his mind slowly catching up as he became aware of his surroundings. Memories of the night before slowly began to flow back to him, the warehouse, the slaughter of MECH soldiers, and the discovery that he was born with all three gifts.

The bed groaned in protest as he sat up and thought. Who was the other vampire born with all three gifts? It couldn't be Mariana, who was both a woman and still alive. The book specifically stated that it was a he, and that said he was dead.

Sighing, the teen stood up off the bed. It didn't matter, not really. Whoever it had been was dead and gone, and would be of no help to Jack. He would have to figure out how to defeat Mariana himself. He just hoped Miko found something out about that silver and soon.

For over a month he'd pestered her about it, but she hadn't been able to find anything on the cross. Her host parents apparently said it was an heirloom, so they had no idea what it was made of or if it was blessed. So that left Jack back at square one.

"Oh well," he muttered. Just another day if disappointments in the life of Jack Darby.

His clothes shifted to his new attire and he exited his room, running a hand through his hair. Making his way to the kitchen, Jack spared a glance at the newly rebuilt living room of his house. It had taken three good weeks to get the damn thing repaired, but it was finally rebuilt. The faint scent of fresh paint and wood shavings was fresh in Jacks highly sensitive nose.

But that was not his focus. His focus was the note lying on the counter, his mothers writing scribbled on it. Picking up the note, he quickly skimmed over it.

_Jack,_

_Ratchet told me about your new sleeping schedule. I wish you had told me you weren't getting enough sleep honey, but I understand why you didn't. Anyway, when you wake up, I should either be at the Autobot base, or work. I left a bottle of your medication in the fridge. I know you don't like it when its warm. See you soon._

_Love,_

_Mom_

Jack smiled and felt a small ping of guilt. Not at not telling his mother about not getting enough sleep, but about lying about how he liked to… feed. Truthfully, he hated it when it was cold, it didn't feel or taste right. He preferred it nice and warm, but that in itself unnerved him. He didn't _want _to like it, so he lied to his mother about preferring it in the fridge.

It was a little lie, and one that he knew wouldn't have any consequences. He just didn't want his mother to know that the best times he'd fed had been when she offered him her blood, and when he fed on that MECH soldier.

But if they knew that, they would see him as even more of a monster than they already did, even if they did hide it. And that was something Jack didn't want to deal with.

The fridge opened with a slight hiss, the light spilling out into the unlit halls. He could have turned a light on, but his vampiric sight made it unnecessary. He could see clear as day be it night or midday.

Eyes scanning the contents of the fridge, Jack quickly found the item he was looking for, a small black canister. Lifting it out of the fridge, Jack unscrewed the cap and downed the liquid rather quickly. As usual, the sensation and the taste made his eyes dilate and his body shudder. No matter how many times he drank, he was never going to get used to the sensation.

Of course, what happened next he wasn't expecting either. As he set the canister down, the front door to his house came crashing down, making him jump. Boots thudded against the ground and a total of ten MECH soldiers rushed in, surrounding the teen with raised rifles. Jack froze like a deer in the spotlight. How had they reacted so fast!? It had only been less than half a day since the warehouse!

"Down on the ground!" one of the faceless soldiers ordered.

Jack slowly raised his hands, his red eyes watching each and every soldier. He heard their breathing, the slight click of their rifles against their armor, and the smell of perspiration, of fear, filled his nose. And it excited him, got his heart pumping, awakening a part of him he didn't know about or had felt. It wasn't a blood rage or whatever he'd experienced the previous night. It was something less enthralling, but more... exciting.

The young vampire slowly grinned, revealing his serrated teeth. The fear of the men intensified, "So," he rasped, barely moving his teeth while keeping his smile, "MECH has sent dogs to kill me, have they? Hasn't Silas learned? You don't send dogs to do a man's job."

Looks were exchanged amongst the men. For many, it would be the last thing they ever saw.

Jack was a blur, leaping over the table and knocking the canister off the counter, time seeming to slow. The first man went down with a fist through his chest, blood spilling against the floor. Jack twisted around and flung the corpse at two other soldiers, knocking them off their feet with a thud. He backpedaled his way into another man, slamming his elbow into his sternum, earning a satisfied crack.

The teen twisted around the dying man and ripped his rifle from his hand. He pulled the trigger and watched as all the men fell to the ground, blood spraying across Jack and the house.

There was a clang of metal on tile, and suddenly Jack was aware of things moving… faster. The black canister bounced with a hollow clang into view, and Jack fell to a knee as he realized what had happened. He'd killed every man here before the canister had hit the ground. He'd seen himself move fast, but that… that was incredible.

It also made him feel hungry. The rifle dropped from Jacks hands, and he looked at the blood on them, his eyes dilating, saliva dripping from his fangs as he opened his mouth. And for a few precious seconds, the vampire licked the blood from his hands, shuddering with pure ecstasy. He hadn't realized how hungry he was! And the thing was, he wanted more!

His eyes darted over the bodies, over the blood! Barely keeping any restraint, he fell to both knees and actually began licking the blood off the ground, feeling the warm liquid running down his throat, feeling satiated. And when that blood ran out, he moved to the first body, peeling away the neck armor and sinking his fangs into the man's neck.

There was a small spurt of blood, before he began sucking in blood, in big heaving gulps, the hunger slowly leaving him. And as the last of the body's blood was drained into Jack, the teen let out a satisfied sigh, falling back and wiping a drop of blood off the corner of his mouth. He looked around at the remaining bodies.

"I should feel bad about this," he muttered, getting to his feet, "And I do. But you shit heads broke into my house, threatened me with guns, and then tried to kill me. You're nothing more than food."

"Oi, I think da boys got it, what ya thank?" a man with a thick Irish accent ( I think that's how it would sound. Apologies if I offend any Irish readers, and if you know how one would sound, enlighten me.), "I'd say da lad's got da whole vampire thang down."

Jack looked up to see three hooded figures standing at the door. The one that spoke was short and thick, with a bandolier of grenades wrapped around his chest. The one to his left was tall and lean, with two pistols resting comfortably in their holsters. The one to his right was somewhere in the middle, and held a sword at his side. All three men wore the same attire, all black with black hoodies and black scarves wrapped around their faces. Only their blood red eyes gave away what they were.

Vampires.

The one with the sword looked Jack over, "He made a bloody mess of him is what he did." he said, his voice sounding distinctly British.

The other one, with the dual pistols, chuckled, "That he did, but I'd reckon that given the situation, the boy did right okay." his accent could only be described as being the accent of a stereotypical cowboy.

Jack took a step back from the very odd figures, his whole body tense, "And you three would be?"

The vampire with dual pistols pulled one out and twirled it on the end of his finger casually, "Well partner, you can just call me Slinger, that's what these bozo's call me. Anywho, that's Master of Explosives, or MoE as we like to call him, and the British guy is Sir Ian."

"Any particular reason you're in my house?" Jack asked slowly. He began to make his way to the nearest window.

"It's quite simple really," Sir Ian said, pulling his sword from his sheath. Its silver edge gleamed in the moonlight.

"We're here with those poor bastards, and we're going to kill you." he nodded at the vampiric cowboy," Slinger?"

"Right," Slinger pulled out his second pistol and aimed both at Jack. One at his heart, the other at his head, "Sorry partner, nothin personal. Just business."

Two shots fired and Jack dove out the window, ignoring the sharp sting of glass cutting into his flesh. Stumbling forward, the teen leapt up onto the nearest house any took off, the three odd vampires taking off after him. Jack spared a glance behind himself to see the three keeping pace with ease, Sir Ian and the Slinger starting to gain on him, while MoE neither gained or lost ground.

Jack leapt from building to building, noting that he was reaching the outskirts of town. Realizing he wouldn't get very far with those two chasing him, Jack pulled his phone out while he ran and dialed the base.

A moment later, Ratchet answered _"Hello?"_

"Ratchet!" Jack cried, ducking under two more bullet shots, "I'm being chased, I need a bridge, NOW!"

_"Jack? What's going on?" _

"Now is _not _the time Ratchet." he snapped, "Bri-" he let out a scream of pain as his entire hand was shot off. The blow was so sudden, the boy lost concentration and hit the rooftop, skidding along it and flying off the edge, hitting the ground with a bone breaking thud.

Jack winced, feeling a sharp pain in his side. He looked at his chest and gagged, seeing a white shard of bone sticking through his side and shirt. The pain in that area was unbearable, mostly because he wasn't lost in a blood rage, and could feel every bit of pain from the injury. But the worst part though, was when shadows engulfed it, and proceeded to shove it _back _into place, making him scream in pain.

Then, the bone knit itself back together, letting Jack stand back up, using his only remaining hand to brush the dirt off his clothes, right as the three vampires landed around him, weapons drawn. Well, except for MoE, who simply watched. Given his weapon of choice, that was a given.

"Oh now that _had _to hurt!" Slinger howled. Jack glared at the three, shoving the reforming stump of his hand under his armpit.

"Why are you working with MECH?" he demanded, backing away.

He didn't get far before he felt the sting of a metal blade against his neck, "Stay put boy." Ian ordered, holding his sword at his neck.

Jack did just that. He felt a burning sensation from where ever the sword touched him, and figured it was made of some sort of silver. Slingers bullets too, which was why his hand was only just reforming.

The three vampires chuckled at his question, "Son, we don't work for MECH." Slinger said, scratching his neck, "Ya see, we all work for a higher being, our lord and master Mariana."

Jack scowled, "You work for that _bitch_!?" he screamed.

Ian slashed at his back, making him fall to his knees, "Watch your tongue boy, all of us have served her majesty for over a century. She deserves your respect."

Hissing in pain as his wound smoldered from the silver, Jack looked up at them, "She's a goddamn monster. Look what she did to all of us!"

"Boy, you must be dumber than a sack or rocks," Slinger said, resting a foot on a large rock and leaning on it, "Ya see, Mariana saved each and everyone of us by makin us 'monsters'. See Ian over yonder?" he pointed at the vampire standing over Jack, "He nearly died of the black plague of all things."

"Until her ladyship found me, near death, and took pity on me. Now I serve her loyaly, as I should."

Slinger chuckled, "That ya do Ian. That ya do. And see, ol'MoE over there, well, he was a WWII vet, demolitions expert in the british army."

"Aye, until a bloody trip mine blew me legs clean off!" he slapped his legs, "Then she comes along, offas me a chance ta live, and I take it! I woulda lived a cripple the rest me life otherwise!"

"And me, well, ya see partner," Slinger started, "I was used to be your down home ol'fashioned cattle rancher. Spent my days chasing cattle all across these glorious states. Then, come across a real bad storm, get separated from my partners ya see. When the storm clears, most of my supplies are lost, and I haven't the foggiest idea where in the samhell I am!"

He let out a laugh, "When wouldn't ya know it, that beautiful dame comes across me, and damn near saves my life. So ya see kid, Mariana ain't that bad, she just uses her gift to help us mere mortals become… better, like her."

Jack scowled, "Better? I never wanted to be like this, to have to drink blood to survive, to have ice cold skin, or red eyes! I just wanted to live a normal life, but because I decided to help someone, she decided to attack me, then turn me instead. How is that a gift if I didn't want it?!"

The three sighed, "Kids today, they never learn." Slinger said, shaking his head.

He stood up from the rock and sighed, stretching his back, "Alright, listen up kid, I'm going to start counting to five. If you can get far enough away before I start shootin, we'll let ya go. For now. I'm feelin a little merciful today, so consider yourself lucky."

"That sound good to ya'll?" he asked, looking to his comrades.

The three nodded, and the cowboy vampire focused his eyes on Jack, "One….Two….Ya'll better start running…Three…"

Jack started backing away, his hands reformed and his spine reconnected. A faint smile was on his face, which confused the hell out of Slinger.

"Four."

Backed a little further away.

"Boy, you are one utterly dumbass vampire." Slinger said, and pulled both his pistols.

"Five!"

And at that exact moment, a ground bridge swirled to life behind Jack. Taking off like a shot, Jack went into the portal right as Slinger started cursing and firing at him. He nearly made it through, when one of the shots nicked his knee and another hit his shoulder. His left leg went limp and his right arm felt like it was on fire, but he limped forward, exiting into the base to see everyone looking at him concerned.

"Jack what-"

"Close the bridge! NOW!" he ordered, right as another shot connected with his injured knee. Jack screamed in pain and fell to the ground, his leg in two pieces.

At this point, his vision started to go fuzzy. He was vaguely aware of the bridge shutting behind him, and the others calling out his name and rushing to his side. He was also aware he wasn't bleeding. Those rounds were definitely silver. The burns cauterized, meaning little blood loss.

But he was still tired. Not in the "I'm going to die" tired, but more the "I'm passing out now" tired. And that's exactly what he did, in his mother's arms, injured and smoking from silver rounds…

**A/N: Yay, another chapter! Is it obvious that I liked writing this chapter? Because I did! But what about you guys, did YOU like this chapter? Was it up to par with the others? Let me know in the reviews, and remember, ideas and questions in PM's please. Bye!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Fall of the Triple Entende

_Outskirts of Jasper…_

Slinger stomped his foot on the ground in frustration as the bridge swirled shut, "Don gone it!" he cursed, "The little runt got away!"

MoE shook his head, looking at the cowboy with a disappointed look, "Well what did ya think was gonna happen ya damn idiot!?" he demanded, tossing a grenade between his hands, "Ya need te learn te stop playin with yar food like that."

"Why you no good little," Slinger glared at the Irish vampire, "Why I oughta!"

"Oughta what?" MoE sneered, getting up in his face. Slinger was laughably taller than MoE, but the short man made up for his lack of height with his thickly corded limbs, "You'll try and shoot me with one of dem peashooters of yours!? Ha!"

Slinger pointed one of his pistols at the vampires face, clicking the safety off, "I'm tempted to try shit head."

The two vampires stared each other down, snarling behind their scarves, when, "Enough!" Sir Ian sliced through the air between them, causing the two to stumble away from each other.

The former knight slid his sword back into its sheathe, glaring at the two, "We have enough problems to deal with without you two idiots fighting."

"MoE, contact MECH," he ordered, then looked to Slinger, "Slinger, scout possible ambush locations. Jackson can't hide from us forever. And when the time comes, we'll make him pay for disrespecting her ladyship."

Both vampires looked at him, before he let out a hiss, "What are you idiots still doing here, go!" and the two vanished, running on top of the roofs to different locations. MoE to find a good signal location, and Slinger to scout the area. This left Sir Ian by himself on the outskirts of town.

A single abandoned house, one identical to the hundreds resting next to Jasper itself. This one though must have been some sort of prototype. It had the look of a house that was never inhabited, never visited. Its grassy lawn was withered and dried up, the paint old and peeling, and the windows dusty and cracked. A wooden picket fence, the paint long since worn away, outlined the lawn.

Sighing, Sir Ian rested against said fence and pulled the scarve down, exposing a pale clean shaven face. The man had a strong jaw and cheekbones, with a slightly crooked nose, an injury from a time long before he became a vampire. It was the face of a warrior, or would be, if it weren't for the blood red eyes and serrated fangs.

He reached into a pocket on the outside of his hoody, and pulled out a pack of cigars. Shaking one of them loose, he took in between his lips and lit it with a lighter, taking in a deep breath before blowing smoke into the cool night air.

"Bloody cheap things." he muttered. He missed the days of a smoking pipe with a dash of tobacco leaves. That was much better than these _cigarettes _that everyone seemed to smoke nowadays. But that wasn't keeping up with the times, and he was stuck with the cigarettes. Even if he did hate them with a passion.

His hatred of cigarettes was interrupted though, by the sound of a police siren, and a flash of red and blue. An annoyed look passed over his face as he looked to see a police cruiser pull up. He immediately recognized the man who exited the vehicle as one of the few remaining policemen not turned, a new recruit if memory served.

The police officer had a youthful face to him as far as Ian could tell, and closed his door behind him with a solid _'thunk'_. He approached the vampire, one hand on his radio, the other on his holster.

"Excuse me sir," he greeted.

"Evening officer," the vampire said offhandedly.

The policeman looked around at the area, "We got a call in reporting gunshots and screaming. You see anything suspicious around here?"

Ian held the stub of his cigarette in his hand, looking at it bored before flicking it away, "No, can't say I have officer." he lied, "It's been quite the peaceful night in all truth."

Frowning, the officer readjusted his hat, "You wouldn't mind if I took a look around, would you?"

"Not my house," Ian shrugged, "Go ahead."

Nodding, he walked up to the house and seemed to give it a once over, looking for any sign of violence. It only lasted a minute or two before the cop sighed, "Nothing here it seems, guess it was a… wait a minute."

Ian looked over his shoulder at the cop, who was crouching on the dried up ground, holding a flashlight pointed at it. The vampire smirked at that, frail humans. Couldn't even see without a torch to light the way.

The cop holstered his flashlight and stood up, briskly walking back to the vampire, "Sir, I'm going to need you to come with me. I have reason to suspect you were involved with the reported shooting."

Ian scoffed at the handcuffs the cop pulled, "I'm not going anywhere with you." he growled.

"Resisting arrest too." the cop said, scowling, "Keep going buddy, you're just adding to the list." and he approached Ian with the cuffs.

There was a black blur, and the sound of flesh and cloth tearing. The young policeman screamed as his hands fell to the ground and blood gushed from the stumps of his arms. Ian hadn't even moved, just casually lit another cigarette before taking a puff.

"Bloody cops." he muttered, holding the deathstick between his index and middle finger, "Always getting involved where they shouldn't."

He sighed and stood up, looking at the disarmed cop, "Well, I needed a snack. You'll have to do."

The cop looked up trembling at the vampire, and only had time to get out a strangled cry before Ian descended on him, jaws spread wide. There was a sound of ripping flesh, and blood sprayed across the ground and police cruiser…

_Autobot HQ…_

Jack slowly stirred as he heard voices surrounding him. They sounded familiar, like old friends and family. But they sounded… odd, too. Like they weren't quite right. Opening his eyes rather slowly, Jack saw why. His vision was blurry at best, everything being in two's or three's, while the room seemed to spin around him.

His body as a whole felt weird, parts of him cold, parts of him warm, like someone was pressing metal to his skin. He didn't know where he was, but slowly Jack propped himself up on an elbow looking around and blinking a few times.

Gradually the world around him began to come back into focus. The sounds sharpened, and Jack looked to his left, seeing his friends and family standing there. He realized with a shock that he was resting on a metal berth of some kind, and that the cold feeling he was getting was the berth pressed against bullet holes in his clothing.

Looking down, he saw that the left leg on his jean was missing from the thigh down, and his foot was bare. A quick rerun of his memories and he remembered _why _his clothes were like that. He was attacked by that odd trio of vampires. Emphasis on odd.

With a groan, Jack heaved himself off the berth, stumbling forward and shoving a metal table away, causing tools to clatter against the floor rather loudly. All eyes and optics turned to the struggling boy, who was trying to stand, before they began to rush over.

"Jack!" June was over in an instant, helping her son to his feet, "Honey, sit down, you were hurt pretty bad."

Jack waved her off, feeling his strength return, "I'm fine, I'm fine," he muttered. With a shake of his head, he found his vision became sharp and clear again, and his sense of balance returned.

Once that was clear, he looked up to see the Autobot's, Miko, Raf, and his mother all looking at him concerned. It only took a moment for him to realize why. Miko though, decided to spell it out for everyone anyway.

"So… any reason you came through the bridge getting shot at?" she asked.

He rubbed at a patch of exposed skin on his shoulder where a bullet hit, "I was… attacked, at home," he started, looking at the bots, "By MECH."

Everyone scowled and exchanged looks, except Raf, who looked more confused than anything, "But wait, we saw you take on MECH before," Jack shuddered at the memory of his first and only true blood rage, "How were they able to hurt you like that?"

Jack sighed and sat on the berth, rubbing a hand over his face, "It wasn't MECH that hurt me. I handled them fine." he said casually. The bots and humans exchanged looks. The implication of what he'd just said was not lost on them. He'd killed them, plain and simple. But hearing him that casual about it was a little… unnerving.

"If it wasn't MECH that hurt you," Arcee looked back down at Jack with concerned optics, "Then who was it?"

June put a hand on her sons shoulder "Was it Mariana again?" she asked.

The teen frowned, "No, not entirely. It was three vampires, old ones, that work for Mariana." he looked up at the bots, "And they were using silver weapons. Silver bullets, silver swords. And I'm pretty sure the third one had silver shrapnel in his grenades."

The base members took a moment to digest this new information. Three vampires, all of them armed to the teeth to kill a vampire. They'd seen what had happened to Jack, where he not able to regenerate, then he likely would have died. As it was though, he was simply missing part of his left pant leg.

Optimus looked at his fellow Autobots with a thoughtful expression, before focusing his gaze on Jack, "For the time being, until these vampires have been neutralized, I believe it would be in both Jack and Nurse Darby's best interest to remain at base until then."

Jack nodded with the others, he saw no reason to leave base with those three men out there looking for him, hunting for him. He had been utterly thrashed last time, who was to say a second encounter would be any different.

"Ugh, Optimus," apparently June had other thoughts, as the woman got the Primes attention, "Not that I don't appreciate the offer of protection, but we need clothes if we're going to stay here."

Jack started chuckling and the others looked at him like he was crazy. He smiled at his mom, "Actually, I'm good mom, I've got all the clothes I need right here." he patted his jacket that he wore.

"Ugh dude, no offense," Miko said, eyeing his relatively thrashed outfit, "But your clothes don't look like they'll survive the night."

Without saying a word, Jack just smiled as his clothes were covered in shadow, earning shocked gasps from everyone. The shadows swirled and twisted on his clothes, but when they retracted, all the cuts and holes in his clothing were gone. Sealed tight. Jack readjusted his jacket, resisting the urge to laugh at the shocked expressions on everyone's faces.

"Okay," Bulkhead said, shaking his head, "I'm not the only one who just saw that, right!?"

"Jack… what did you just do?" Arcee asked, her faceplate as shocked as everyone else's.

"New power," Jack explained, "I learned how to control shadow magic. All vampires can do it I think, I just have a natural talent for it I guess."

Ratchet snorted, "Preposterous! Shadows can't be manipulated, they are merely the result of light being blocked by another object."

The young vampire raised a hand, a ball of what looked like fiery shadows floating in the palm of his hand, "Then what does this look like Ratchet? You can't touch it, you can't feel it, but you can see through it." he shut his hand and the ball vanished in a flash of shadow.

The medic looked at Jack for a moment before marching off to his terminal, muttering angrily to himself all the while. Soon the others followed suit, separating back into their standard position, except June and Arcee, who stayed with Jack.

"Are you sure you're okay Jack?" his mother asked, repeatedly looking him over and messing with his clothes checking for hidden injuries.

"Gah! Mom, I'm fine!" he protested, pushing her hands away, "I'm fine, it was just a few injuries, nothing I couldn't handle."

"Just a few injuries?" Arcee deadpanned, kneeling down, "Jack, you're leg was shot off and according to June your shoulder blade shattered. That's not a few minor injuries."

Jack shrugged, rolling his shoulders, "You've seen me take worse. It only hurt so much because the rounds were silver is all. I'll be fine, I promise." he smiled, his teeth not serrated or fanged at the moment.

The two females seemed somewhat relieved at Jacks confidence and let up on him for a moment. Taking advantage of his freedom, Jack took the elevator to the top of the base. He needed to be alone for a few minutes.

Once the doors chimed open, the teen walked across the barren top of the Autobot Base and came to a stop at the edge, feeling the wind tug hungrily at his clothes. But he paid that no mind, as his mind was lost in thought. Lost in thought over the three vampires that attacked him and the words they had said.

More specifically, their backgrounds and how they were turned. Each one Mariana had turned when they were on the brink of death, giving them a new life, a new chance. Just ordinary men who would have died without her interference. A small part of Jack thought that if what they said was true, then Mariana wasn't that bad. Maybe she was just misunderstood, given what she was.

Then Jack remembered his friends in the club, the ones turned against their will. Tim had been damn near tortured before Mariana finally turned him. And the others, the others had been changed against their will too. Hell, Mariana had beaten Jack and torn his arm off.

Growling to himself, Jack looked at his hands, his cold marble white hands. The color of life in them was gone, replaced with snow white skin, dead skin. All because of her. She'd toyed with him, messed with him, and then turned him into a monster. A monster that felt no remorse what he'd done to those men.

His thoughts traveled back to the MECH agents he'd slaughtered at his house. It had been so easy, like breaking twigs. And the scariest part was, a part of him enjoyed it. Not just as a job, but as a pleasure. Killing those men, feeling their skin break beneath his blows, their ribs crack, and then drinking them dry… apart of him wanted more, to kill more, to feed more!

There was a crack as Jack slammed his hands onto is head and fell to his knees, "GAH!" he screamed, punching the ground. The earth cracked and his hand was reduced to a pile of shattered bones and flesh.

He didn't care though, "What the hell is wrong with me!?" he demanded, "I'm just as sick as Mariana!"

Jack rested his head on the ground, feeling tears sting his eyes. The guilt, the horror at what he'd done, it all came crashing down seemingly out of nowhere. But for Jack, he knew it hadn't simply come out of nowhere. He had felt it since killing those men. It had only come out now because he was alone and no longer in danger.

"Damn it." he cursed, "I'm just another fucking monster." his regenerated fist hit the ground and he fell to his side.

"Damn it…"

_Jasper Nevada…_

"So, Silas." Mariana said, standing next to the terrorist in the broad moonlight, "What's your big plan this time since the last one failed so _spectacularly_?"

Silas spared her a single glare before watching his men resumed their work in the streets. They were prying up bits of asphalt and placing cylindrical steel objects under them. The two stood on top of a large building that overlooked the construction site.

The man regarded Mariana with a hint of disdain and fear. Rightfully so, all things considered, "Thanks to your agents within the town infrastructure, we were able to evacuate the general area around Jackson's former place of work. The K.O Burger. With the area clear, your… Master of Explosives."

"He chose the title, not me." the vampire queen quickly explained.

"Was able to apply a liberal amount of explosives within the building. Any civilians who are nearby will believe it is simply demolition. While young Jack, will be left as nothing but pieces."

Mariana giggled at that, "A clever plan Si," she ignored the glare he gave her, "But how do you plan on luring Jack to the K.O Burger? You know as well as I that he hasn't been there in over a month. I doubt he'll visit for the heck of it."

"That is one part of the plan we are still working out." Silas admitted, "So far, we've worked out one option that might work. Capturing June Darby and holding her hostage."

"Didn't you already do that?" Mariana asked, frowning.

"Well…yes," Silas admitted, watching his men work again.

The woman shook her head, "Oh Silas, you need to be a little more creative. How long till your men are done?"

Silas relayed the question to his men via radio, "They just finished."

"Good," Mariana looked to the distance and whistled, a low key whistle that echoed through the city and across the buildings. Silas looked at the woman like she was nuts(Which she was) before there was a thud on the roof.

"You called master?" another feminine voice purred. Silas whirled around to see a young girl, about sixteen or seventeen with fiery red hair standing at the edge of the building. And like Mariana, she had snow white skin and blood red eyes. Immediately, the man backed away from her out of instinct. The girl ignored him though, focusing solely on Mariana.

"Why yes Sierra, I did." Mariana chuckled as her servant approached, "Jack has begun a threat to my operations in Jasper. These nice men are going to help me take care of him."

Sierra looked at her master shocked, "B-but I thought I was in charge of convincing him to accept your ways and to join us?" she cried, feeling a bit betrayed her master would simply start another plan without her knowing.

"Oh calm yourself Sierra," Mariana ordered. She had no time to deal with her fledglings self esteem issues, "You still play a vital role. You get to lure him here, or rather, lure him to the K.O Burger." she handed Sierra a phone, which the girl took.

"And if this plan fails?" she asked, dialing Jacks number.

Mariana grinned, "Then we get to fall back to the old plan for a time. But you will have to move fast. Otherwise, I will take matters into my own hands. Understand?"

The girl nodded and pressed enter, bringing the phone to her ear, and hearing the dial tone. Mariana waited in eager anticipation…

_Atop Autobot HQ…_

Jack sat overlooking the wide open landscape of Jasper, head resting on a knee, the other dangling off the side of the Base towards the ground that felt miles below. Jack didn't really care though, his mind was empty as he watched the night sky pass by, the moon rising high into the air. A part of him wanted to run, to just get away from everything. But another part just didn't want to move. At all. He just wanted to stay in one place for the moment and brood.

And he would have done just that. Until his phone began to ring, practically making him jump out of his skin. After he settled himself, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

There was a sound of a phone moving fast, like the user couldn't respond immediately, followed by_, "Jack!?" _

The vampire stood to his feet in an instant, his heart in his throat, "Sierra?"

_"Oh thank god!" _the girl sighed heavily, sounding out of breath.

"Sierra. what's wrong?" he asked. Something was up, she sounded like desperate, and like she was out of breath.

_"It's…it's Vince Jack! I don't know where he came from, but he came out of nowhere! Attacked me and chased me into the K.O Burger. Jack please, help!" _she begged, sounding on the edge of tears.

"O-Okay, Sierra, I'm on my way. Did you contact the others?" he asked, his heart rate skyrocketing.

She let out a frightened cry as there was a sound of crashing, _"I-I tried, but they won't pick up! Oh God he's breaking through, Jack, please hurry!" _there was another crash and the girl let out a scream before the line went dead.

"S-Sierra!?" Jack looked at his phone to see the line was cut, "Damn it!" he cursed, stomping his foot down. From the sound of it, he had no time to lose. If he told the bots what was up, they probably wouldn't let him go. They'd keep him there or demand an explanation before going themselves. And by then, it would be too late.

Jack looked out over the long stretch of highway, and more specifically the faded lights of Jasper. If he put his all into it, he could be there in a few minutes tops. Explaining it to the bots could take any length of time.

Sighing to himself, Jack made a judgment call, and leaped off the edge of the building, plummeting to the ground at a frightening pace. At the last moment, he used his shadows to create a large set of unmoving wings, which instantly caught air.

He dropped a few more feet before bouncing up and flying towards the city. He hadn't even known he could do that, he'd just done it on instinct. And it was much faster than walking, the ground speeding by underneath him.

_'Hold on Sierra.' _he thought frantically, _'I'm coming!'_

_K.O. Burger…_

Sierra smirked and handed the phone to her master, "He bought it hook, line, and sinker." she reported.

Mariana grinned and tucked the phone away, "Excellent work Sierra, and a good use of the finishing construction too. Now then."

She looked to Silas, "Get your men into hiding, I'll move mine into position. Jack will be here any second."

Deciding that arguing with the woman would be futile, Silas just nodded and ordered his men to finish what they were doing and to take cover in the shops and building surrounding the K.O Burger. In a matter of seconds, the streets were abandoned.

The trap was set, all that was needed, was the mouse.

Said mouse arrived roughly two minutes later, landing in the street and rolling forward before popping up and looking at the K.O Burger. Jack clenched his fist at the sight of the vial establishment, before making his way to it.

He noted the damaged asphalt around the building, more than likely from Vince, and approached the front door. There seemed to be no sign of a struggle, but Jack passed it off as just luck on the structures part. He gripped the handle and slowly opened the door…

A moment later, he felt a pressure slam into him followed by an intense sting all over his body, before he was sent flying through the air, crashing into the asphalt. His shoulder hit the ground with an audible crack, and Jack yelled in pain before skidding to a stop. The entire world seemed out of balance for a moment before his regenerative abilities knit his eardrums back together.

Pain engulfed his entire body and Jack was vaguely aware that his upper body was covered in burns, his shirt and jacket torn away. The teen struggled to get up, his right arm completely limp. Jack looked at it and figured it was probably dislocated. His mother would throw a fit when she found out.

Though she never would, as several shadowy tendrils began flowing out of the numerous burns covering his body and gripped his arm, wrenching it into place. He screamed in pain as the joint audibly cracked, before the pain faded quickly. Jack got to his feet, his legs shaking and looked at the K.O Burger.

Smoke poured from the windows, and glass was scattered everywhere(he was pretty sure he felt a shard jutting from his midsection) across the parking lot. Someone had booby trapped the K.O Burger and sent a fake call from Sierra just to try and off him!

Jack had a pretty good idea when he heard three thuds landing behind him. Holding his right arm to his chest, which was rapidly healing, Jack turned towards the sounds. And as he suspected, the three vampires stood there. This time though, they wore black leather jackets over their hooded sweaters for some reason, and a pair of black gloves.

MoE laughed at Jack, who straightened his back, feeling several vertebrate pop back into place, "Oi, looks like da lad's a wittle concerned for dat pretty liddle dame of is!" he yelled, looking at his comrades.

"Where is she?" Jack demanded, his wounds nearly healed by this point. His clothes knit themselves back together and Jack felt several pieces of glass eject themselves from his body, clattering onto the floor.

"Where's who partner?" Slinger asked, scratching his head with the slide of his pistol, "The girl? Shoot, the hell should we know? We just had MoE over here imitate her voice."

Jack looked at MoE, who clasped his hands together and spoke in perfect imitation of Sierra's voice, "Oh help my Jack, please. Vince is coming after me, I can't possibly take him on alone." He and Slinger snickered while Jack scowled angrily. He'd been had, and now he would pay the price.

"Enough talk you bumbling nitwits." Sir Ian growled, unsheathing his silver sword, "We have a mission to complete, and I for one intend to complete it."

"Spoil sport." Slinger pouted, drawing his second pistol and pointing it at Jack. MoE popped a grenade off his bandolier, tossing it casually in his hand.

Jack just glared at the three, his body trembling with rage. These men had attacked him, they had used someone he cared for (though their relationship he was still unsure of) to lure him in for a trap, and now they planned on killing him. His hands clenched tightly, blood starting to drip from his hands. Sir Ian stopped in front of him and raised his sword arm to the side.

No, not this time. Never again.

Snarling, Jack lunged forward, surprising Sir Ian for a brief moment. He decked the former knight in the face, knocking him back and shooting towards the other two. Slinger opened fire, the crack of his pistols echoing through the night, but it was useless. Jack wasn't running anymore, he was fighting back. He summoned a shadowy shield, making the rounds spark off it before knocking Slinger away with it.

The cowboy rolled across the ground while Jack scooped a shard of glass about two feet long off the ground and charged MoE. Rather than try to dodge him, the large Irishman planted his feet on the ground and only let out a grunt when Jack stabbed him through the chest with the glass, before flipping over his head and landing behind him, panting.

The thickly muscled figure let out a tremor before he began to laugh, turning around to face Jack, while placing a hand on the glass shard. Jack watched in shock as he ripped the shard out of his chest, tearing his skin and shirt apart, before the wound sealed itself closed.

"Ha! Is dat de best ya got lad?" he demanded, shattering the glass in his hand, "I'm a regenerator dumbass, a little stab like that ain't gonna slow me down."

A shadowy limb wrapped around Jacks neck and threw him to the ground, scraping some of the skin on his face off. He crashed into a lamp post along the street, feeling a few more bones crunching before he rolled onto the concrete.

"And Sir Ian here, well partner," Slinger said, hopping back up and cracking his neck, "He's a regular shadow manipulator."

Jack looked up as his bones snapped back together to see several shadowy limbs flaring behind the vampire, each one holding a blade as dark as the night sky. Jack struggled to his feet, feeling exhausted from what had happened. These three, even with his powers, they were too much, too much for him to handle.

Slinger smirked and leveled his pistol at Jack, "No hard feelin's right kid? It's just business after all."

The retort of his pistol jerked Jack back, followed by another shot, and another. Each one caused the teen to stumble back, his entire chest numb at this point. Little did he know that the men were slowly shooting him back to the minefield setup beneath the asphalt by MECH's forces. Finally, he stepped on one.

There was a click, and Jack vanished in a ball of fire and smoke, the explosion rippling down the street and the shockwave buffeting the three vampires.

"Wooee!" Slinger whooped, "Now that's what I call a bonfire!"

Ian tightened his grip on his sword, not as enthusiastic as his comrade, "Shut up you idiot. He's not dead."

Slinger froze mid celebration, "Pardon?"

"Ya heard him Yank." MoE said, walking up next to him, "Lad's not dead, not yet anyway. I dunno how, but somehow he survived that. Ya can feel it if ya were reborn with somethin besides strength and speed."

"And this child…this vampire," Ian corrected, "Is far more powerful than he is aware."

His eyes widened, "Ready yourselves!"

As he said the words, a black streak shot into the air from the fiery pit. No features could be made out on it except it was humanoid and had two glowing red orbs in the center of its face. Ian readied his sword along with his shadow limbs, right as Jack rocketed down at him, shadows peeling off him like flames.

Using his shadow limbs, he caught the attack from Jack, a low boom echoing from the connection, before the two vampires were launched away from each other. Ian used his extra limbs to slow himself, while tendrils of shadow shot out from Jack, digging into the concrete and holding him in place.

Gradually, the shadows around his face peeled away, revealing the teen in a massive snarl, saliva dripping from his gaping maw. Slinger gulped and took a step back.

"The hell's up with this kid?" he asked, holding his pistols on the shadowy being.

"He's using his powers in sync." Ian explained, "He has all three of our gifts, but in the form we have face previously, he could only use one at a time. Here, all three are working in sync, his strength, his regenerative abilities, and his shadow magic. This makes him more powerful than any one of us, maybe all three of us." Ian growled, his swords scraping together.

"Then how the hell do we take him out!?" Slinger demanded.

MoE chuckled, "We don't. Don't ya get it Slinger? This is all a part of Mariana's plan. Look at the lad, he's almost lost it. The more Mariana pushes him like dis, de less stable he'll be. It'll make him easier to manipulate and ultimately turn to her cause."

"So we're just bait!?" Slinger screamed.

"No." Jack rasped, stepping forward, "You're dead."

And he charged the three, concrete slabs shattering under his rapid footfalls. Ian crossed his swords in anticipation, "Stand your ground men!" he ordered, right as Jack slammed into them.

His own tendrils wrestled with Ian's, the two powers fighting back and forth. While that happened, Ian stabbed his sword into Jack chest and sliced upwards, cleaving the teen's upper body in two. It lasted about three seconds before his shadows pulled him together and the wound healed.

Snarling, Jack used his actual hands to grip Ian's, the two vampires struggling against each other before there was a loud crack. Ian cried out in pain as two slivers of bone burst from his skin, causing his strength in his shadow magic to falter. Jacks tendrils tore into his own, ripping them apart before diving into his skin.

The other two vampires watched in horror as Sir Ian, a vampire nearly a millennia old, was slowly infiltrated by the shadows, the tendrils pushing up skin while lifting him into the air. The vampire tried to scream in pain to no avail as the tendrils occupied every square inch of his body, burning his flesh.

And with a twitch of his tendrils, the vampire exploded into a fountain of gore, what remained of him splattering the pavement and his comrades. Slinger looked at himself in horror, before meeting Jacks gaze.

The teenage vampires shadowy form set his gaze on the cowboy, and bared his teeth in a terrifying snarl, the edges of his mouth spreading unnaturally wide. It was at this point that Slingers true nature was revealed.

"Oh fuck this!" he screamed, and ran off.

"Ya bloody coward!" MoE yelled after him, "Come back and die like a vampire ya prick!"

"Oh don't worry," MoE whirled to see Jack standing in front of him, "His time is coming, but right now, it's your turn."

Before the stocky vampire could react, Jacks shadows ripped the pins from his grenades, and the vampire leapt away from the Irishman, who struggled to get his bandolier off.

"Oh you bloody son of a-" a massive boom shook the area around him, and the regenerator vanished in a ball of fire and brimstone.

Jack sneered at the smoky remains, "Regenerate from that."

Slinger sprinted as fast as his legs could take him over the ruined asphalt were he'd believed Jack was supposed to die. Now the kid went fucking nuts and was killing _them_! He had to get away, get as far as possible. Screw Mariana, he wanted to live, not get torn apart by a bunch of shadows.

"Going somewhere?" Slinger barely had time to turn around before Jack grabbed him by the throat and crashed him into the ground, cracking the asphalt and concrete. The cowboy started choking and grabbed at his arm frantically. Jack pulled him from the crater, holding him high in the air, his blood red eyes appearing to stare into his soul.

"Please… don't…kill me!" the cowboy begged, still grabbing at his arm.

Jack's eyes narrowed, "You're not a man, not a dog, not even a monster. You're just a scared little boy."

Without another word, Jack dragged him over to a nearby building. With a flick of his wrist, he slammed him so hard into the building, that he stuck to the building, dazed. His arms were raised up so it looked as though he were crucified on the building.

"And I wonder," Jack said, his shadows rising in anticipation, "What are little boys made of?"

Slinger looked at him terrified, "What are you-"

The tendrils lashed out and dug into his torso, tearing his skin flesh and muscle apart, causing the man to scream. All the while Jack just grinned like a madman.

"Snips and snails, and puppy dog tails," there was a sound of something wet spilling out of Slinger, onto the floor, "_That _is what little boys are made of."

* * *

From the upper rooftops, hidden away, Mariana grinned madly, "And so the descent begins," she murmured.

Sierra looked at her confused, "Master?"

"Jack doesn't know it yet, but without my guidance, his sanity will slowly deteriorate. It's a side effect of his powers," the vampire queen explained, "Dracula suffered a similar problem before he killed his master and regained it." she giggled, "But Jack, oh he won't kill me. By the time he is strong enough, his sanity will be gone, and he'll finally join me."

She rubbed her hands together, "All the pieces are falling into place."

* * *

As if waking from a dream, the shadows around Jack dissipated, and the boy was left in a blood stained battlefield, looking at the ruined corpse of Stinger. His whole body felt numb at the sight of it, and Jack took a step back before doing something he wanted to do for a long time.

He vomited onto the ground, falling to his knees as he heaved whatever contents made up his stomach. Each heave brought tears to his eyes until he had nothing left. And then the tears came, streaking down his face.

"Oh god, what have I done," he cried, burying his face in his hands, "What have I done!?"

Vaguely he heard cars pull up followed by voices calling to him and felt his mother run to his side embracing him and saying something to him. But all he did was cry, cry and cry into her shoulder. What he had done… they would never know, they hadn't been there. But it was monstrous, disgusting. And the worst part, despite all his disgust?

He liked it.

**A/N: So... yeah. Let me know what you thought of the chapter in the reviews, and PM me with questions and ideas. Bye!**


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